Panama and Noriega



Panama and Noriega

1989-1990

Bios:

Jimmy Carter, Former President.

Gerald Ford, Former President.

Dan Quayle, Vice President.

Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense.

William Webster, Director of the FBI.

Rear Admiral William Crowe, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

General Colin Powell, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Arthur Davis, American Ambassador to Panama

John Sununu, White House Chief of Staff.

Brent Scowcroft, National Security Adviser.

Paul Wolfowitz, Undersecretary of Defense for policy,

Bill Price, National Security Council

Robert Gates, Deputy National Security Adviser

Marlin Fitzwater, White House Press Secretary

Lawrence Eagleburger, Deputy Secretary of State

Links:

Joint Chiefs of Staff

Terms:

CINC-SOUTH

BLUE SPOON

1989

May 7 In Panama, the presidential election between Carlos Duque, handpicked by General Manuel Noriega, and Guillermo Endara, the candidate of the Democratic Alliance of Civic Opposition, ended without an official winner. International observers, including former U.S. Presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford, substantiated Endara’s claims that the election had not been conducted fairly.

May 8 President Bush met with Vice President Dan Quayle, Defense Secretary Dick Cheney, and director of the Central Intelligence Agency William Webster and others, to discuss American policy options towards Noriega and the disputed elections in Panama.

May 10 In Panama, paramilitary forces supporting General Manuel Noriega attacked the opposition party’s presidential candidate, Guillermo Endara, with steel pipes and baseball bats, leaving him bloodied and suffering from a concussion. Hours later, the Noriega government officially nullified the May 7 election, citing the “obstruction of foreigners.”

That evening, after the violence against the Panamanian opposition leaders had been shown repeatedly on American television, President Bush, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral William Crowe, Secretary of State James Baker, and others met at the White House to discuss American options. President Bush expressed a desire to end the “Noriega problem,” but did not endorse any specific action. Bush at the same meeting asked Crowe to design a military option. Over the next 24 hours, Crowe and Secretary of Defense Cheney worked to design this option.

May 11 Crowe and Cheney recommended that Bush send additional troops to Panama, as well as a secret team of special forces.

In an afternoon press conference in the White House briefing room, President Bush declared that the “United States stands with the Panamanian people” and outlined a series of measures designed to promote the ouster or resignation of General Manuel Noriega. These included the dispatch of almost 2,000 American troops to Panama, the withdrawal of the American Ambassador to Panama, Arthur C. Davis, and the continuance of existing economic sanctions. No new economic sanctions were announced, however, and Bush sidestepped a question about whether American forces would be used to remove Noriega. Bush also did not reveal that Special Forces had been sent to Panama.

News conference, , via the links “Research” and “Public Papers.”

May 13 During an interview aboard Air Force One with members of the press corps, President Bush reiterated his earlier support for the people of Panama and encouraged the Panamanian Defense Force (PDF) to play a “useful role” in Panama’s future. He harshly condemned Noriega’s nullification of the May 7 election, declaring “The will of the people should not be thwarted by this man and a handful of these Doberman thugs.”

Transcript at , via “Research” and “Public Papers.”

August 31 At a special session of the Organization of American States (OAS) called by the United States, Deputy Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger presented evidence that Noriega had turned Panama into “a haven for drug traffickers and has amassed a $200 million to $300 million personal fortune from criminal activities.”

October 3 Major Moises Giroldi, an officer in the PDF, launched a coup against the Noriega regime. After early success, including the capture of Noriega, the ill-conceived coup was overthrown by elements of the PDF still loyal to Noriega. The American military force in Panama provided scant assistance to the coup, which led to public criticism of the administration. In fact, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Colin Powell, Secretary Cheney, Rear Admiral Ted Sheafer and General Thomas Kelley had briefed President Bush on the morning of October 2 about the possibility of a coup, and had recommended that the United States government wait and see how it developed before committing to any form of assistance. Their intelligence had warned them that Giroldi’s plan for taking power was half-baked.

October 5 At a White House meeting in which the Bush Administration’s national security team’s handling of the Giroldi coup attempt was discussed, President Bush, declaring “amateur hour is over,” demanded that his national security team be more prepared the next time they were presented with an opportunity to remove Noriega. White House Chief of Staff John Sununu headed the review of the Bush administration’s response to the recent coup attempt in Panama, with a focus on the lack of communication between various military and intelligence bureaucracies.

For a journalist’s account of this meeting, see The New York Times, 10/6/89, “White House to Study Handling of Panama Crisis” by Bernard Weintraub.

October 13 During his first news conference since the failed coup of October 3, President Bush answered several queries regarding American policy towards Panama. He reiterated that his administration wanted “to see Mr. Noriega out,” but declined to endorse any specific measures the United States would take against Noriega. President Bush, however, did leave open the possibility of American military intervention.

News conference at , via “Research” and “Public Papers.”

October 6-30 In the wake of the failed Giroldi coup, General Maxwell Thurman, head of CINC-SOUTH or the Southern Command, one of the ten major war-fighting commands, ordered his staff to design “a good contingency plan” to rescue American citizens should hostilities break out between the United States and the Noriega regime. He specifically asked his staff to refine the military’s BLUE SPOON plan that outlined offensive U.S. military operations against Noriega and the PDF. Powell told Thurman that BLUE SPOON needed to be executable on a two-day notice, with Noriega, his allies, and the PDF as targets.

October 30 Thurman signed off on the revised BLUE SPOON plan, otherwise known as “Commander in Chief Southern Command Operations Order 1-90”.

November 3 Thurman briefed the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the particulars of BLUE SPOON.

National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft received a memo from the Justice Department that ruled that the American military could make arrests in foreign countries, which answered a legal question about whether the U.S. military could arrest Noriega.

November 16 Under Thurman’s orders, the United States began the evacuation of all its dependents in Panama. Thurman also decided, sometime in the last two weeks of November, to conduct a full-scale rehearsal of Operation BLUE SPOON

December 15 Noriega’s government declared that the United States and Panama were in a “state of war.”

December 16 Four American soldiers driving to a restaurant in Panama City became lost and unintentionally drove to the PDF headquarters. Stopped by uniformed PDF soldiers, the Americans were threatened by a menacing crowd that gathered. The Americans promptly sped away, but the PDF fired on their car, mortally wounding Lt. Robert Paz, and injuring another soldier. Unknown to the four Americans, a U.S. Navy officer, Adam Curtis, and his wife were also stopped at that checkpoint, and they witnessed the PDF’s actions. The PDF, hoping to discourage these witnesses, held the Curtises for four hours, during which time they were beaten and threatened.

December 17 In the morning, sometime after 8:30 a.m., Powell spoke with Thurman in Panama via a secure phone line. Thurman recommended that execution of the full BLUE SPOON plan.

Just before 10 a.m., Powell, Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz, Undersecretary of Defense for policy, Bill Price of the National Security Council, and others met at the Pentagon to discuss the previous day’s events in Panama, and specifically whether the United States had just cause to intervene militarily.

At 11:30 a.m., Powell met with the Joint Chiefs of Staff at his home in Washington to gather opinions concerning military action. The meeting adjourned with all in agreement that military action was warranted.

President Bush was briefed by Powell, Cheney, Baker, and Scowcroft, along with Deputy National Security Adviser Robert Gates, and Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater. Cheney provided a review of recent events in Panama and a general overview of the proposed response. Powell gave a detailed briefing of the military’s plan, Operation BLUE SPOON. President Bush gave the approval for BLUE SPOON to proceed on December 20.

Lt. General Thomas Kelley, the Joint Chiefs Operations Officer, suggested changing the name of Operation BLUE SPOON to Operation JUST CAUSE. His suggestion was approved.

December 20 Guillermo Endara was sworn in as Panama’s president at 12:39 a.m., preceding an American invasion. U.S. paratroopers landed in Panama City shortly before 1 a.m. Two hours later, the American military had destroyed Noriega’s headquarters, and by 9 a.m., the military had control of Panama, suffering 23 deaths and 394 casualties. Noriega remained at large.

President Bush addressed the nation from the Oval Office to explain the American military intervention in Panama.

For a transcript of Bush’s remarks of December 20 and the transcript from Bush’s news conference on the operation on December 21, see , via “Research” and “Public Papers.”

December 24 In disguise, Noriega arrived at the home of the Papal Nuncio, Monsignor Sebastian Labo, (the Pope’s representative in Panama City,) and asked for asylum, which he received.

December 27 President Bush held a press conference to address the ongoing negotiations surrounding Noriega. The President mentioned the work he and his administration were doing to get Noriega released into American custody.

Transcript of press conference at , via Research and Public Papers

1990

January 3 Noriega was convinced by the Papal Nuncio to surrender to American troops, who had launched a campaign of intimidation, including blasting the residence with very loud rock music.

1991

September 16 The trial of Manuel Noriega began in Miami, Florida.

1992

April 9 Noriega was convicted on eight of ten charges, including drug trafficking, money laundering, and racketeering.

July 10 The ex-dictator of Panama, 58 years old, was sentenced to 40 years in a U.S. jail.

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