Operation Just Cause

Operation Just Cause was the U.S. military invasion of Panama that deposed Manuel Noriega in December 1989, during the administration of U.S. President George H. W. Bush.

General information

The miltary incursion into Panama began on December 20, 1989, at 0100 local time. The operation involved 27,684 U.S. troops and over 300 aircraft —including AC-130 aircraft and the F-117A stealth aircraft and AH-64 Apache which were both used for the first time in combat. These were deployed against the 3,000 members of the Panama Defense Force (PDF). This action was preceded by over a year of diplomatic tension between the United States and Panama (including an attempted coup against Noriega) and several months of U.S. troop buildup in military bases within the former Panama Canal Zone.

Related Topics:
December 20 - 1989 - AC-130 - F-117A stealth aircraft - AH-64 Apache - Panama Defense Force - Panama Canal Zone

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The operation began with an assault of strategic installations such as the civilian Punta Paitilla Airport in Panama City and military command centers throughout the country. The attack on the central headquarters of the PDF (referred to as La Comandancia) touched off several fires, one of which destroyed most of the adjoining and heavily populated El Chorrillo neighborhood in downtown Panama City. During the firefight at the Comandancia, the PDF downed one AH-6 Little Bird helicopter http://www.specialoperations.com/Operations/Just_Cause/Operation_Profile.htm.

Related Topics:
Punta Paitilla Airport - Panama City - AH-6 Little Bird

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Panamanian Defense Force was overwhelmed by the superior firepower of the U.S. forces.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A few hours after the invasion began, Guillermo Endara was sworn in at a United States military base in the former Canal Zone. It is generally agreed that Endara would have been the victor in the presidential election which had been scheduled earlier that year (Los Angeles Times, December 21, 1989).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Military operations continued for several days, mainly against paramilitary units of Noriega loyalists called "Batallones de la Dignidad". With the collapse of the Panamanian Defense Force, looting and other forms of vandalism quickly ensued in most urban areas, but despite the widespread lawlessness, the main focus of the American forces continued to be Noriega's capture and extradition. Noriega remained at large for several days, but realizing he had few options in the face of a massive manhunt, with a one million dollar reward for his capture, he obtained refuge in the Vatican diplomatic mission in Panama City. The American military's psychological pressure on him and diplomatic pressure on the Vatican mission, however, was relentless, including the playing of loud rock-and-roll music day and night in a densely populated area. As a result, Noriega finally surrendered to the U.S. military on January 3, 1990. He was immediately put on a military transport plane and extradited to the United States.

Related Topics:
Vatican - January 3 - 1990

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

By mid-January, American combat forces had begun to withdraw, though U.S. forces remained, ostensibly to support the reconstruction of the newly installed Panamanian government (under the moniker Operation Promote Liberty).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Casualties

The Americans lost 22 soldiers and 1 marine killed in action (KIA) and 324 wounded (WIA). The U.S. Southern Command, at that time based on Howard AFB, Panama, estimated at fifty the number of Panamanian military casualties, lower than its original estimate of 314. There has been considerable controversy over the number of Panamanian civilian casualties resulting from the invasion. At the low end, the Southern Command estimated that number at two hundred. A U.S.-based independent Commission of Inquiry, headed by former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, estimated at more than three thousand the number of Panamanian civilian casualties. There is no known accounting as to how many civilian deaths were directly attributable to military actions on either side. According to globalsecurity.org, "More civilians almost certainly would have been killed or wounded had it not been for the discipline of the American forces and their stringent rules of engagement".

Related Topics:
Killed in action - KIA - WIA - U.S. Southern Command - Ramsey Clark

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Physicians for Human Rights http://www.phrusa.org/about/index.html in a report issued one year after the invasion http://www.phrusa.org/research/health_effects/humojc.html, estimated that "at least 300 Panamanian civilians died due to the invasion". The report also concluded that "neither Panamanian nor U.S. governments provided a careful accounting of non-lethal injuries" and that "relief efforts were inadequate to meet the basic needs of thousands of civilians made homeless by the invasion". The report estimated the number of displaced civilians to be over 15,000, whereas the U. S. military provided support for only 3,000 of these.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

According to official Pentagon figures 516 Panamanians were killed during the invasion; an internal Army memo estimated the number at 1,000 (Lindsay-Poland, 2003, p. 118) and an Independent Commission of Inquiry on the U.S. Invasion of Panama estimated Panamanian deaths at 1000-4000 (Craige, 1996, p. 187).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Origin of the name

The name "Just Cause" has been used primarily by the United States military for planning and historical purposes and by other U.S. entities such as the State Department. Panamanians usually refer to it simply as "The Invasion" (La Invasión). It has been reported that the invasion was derisively referred to as "Operation Just Because" by skeptics inside The Pentagon http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml%3Fi=20041108&s=acockburn.

Related Topics:
State Department - The Pentagon

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In recent years, the naming of U.S. military operations has been the source of some controversy, both internationally and domestically (see Operation Enduring Freedom). At the time operations to depose Noriega were being planned, U.S. military operations were given meaningless names. Just Cause was planned under the name Blue Spoon, and the invasion itself incorporated elements of the Operation Nifty Package and Operation Acid Gambit plans. The name Blue Spoon was later changed to Just Cause for aesthetic and public relations reasons.

Related Topics:
Operation Enduring Freedom - Operation Nifty Package - Operation Acid Gambit - Aesthetic - Public relations

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~