Operation Just Cause: Noriega Deposed by U.S.

The United States invaded Panama with 27,000 troops to arrest one man. On December 20, 1989, Operation Just Cause began at 1:00 AM as American forces attacked military targets across Panama City, deposed dictator Manuel Noriega, and installed democratically elected president Guillermo Endara. The operation was the largest American military action since Vietnam and the first combat use of the F-117 stealth fighter. Noriega had been a CIA asset for decades, providing intelligence on leftist movements in Central America while consolidating power. By the late 1980s, federal grand juries had indicted him on drug trafficking charges. Noriega annulled a May 1989 election won by Endara, and his thugs publicly beat the opposition vice president before television cameras. When an off-duty Marine was killed at a roadblock in December, President George H.W. Bush authorized the invasion. The assault combined special operations raids, airborne drops, and conventional attacks on twenty-seven objectives simultaneously. Navy SEALs disabled Noriega's jet and attacked a patrol boat, losing four men. Rangers parachuted onto the PDF garrison at Rio Hato. The 82nd Airborne secured key infrastructure while mechanized infantry assaulted the Comandancia, the PDF headquarters. The firefight ignited the adjacent El Chorrillo neighborhood, destroying hundreds of homes. Noriega evaded capture for four days before seeking asylum at the Vatican embassy. American forces surrounded the building and blasted rock music at deafening volume. Noriega surrendered on January 3, 1990, was flown to Miami, tried, and convicted of drug trafficking. Official U.S. casualties were twenty-three killed and 325 wounded. Panamanian military casualties numbered roughly 315, but civilian deaths remain disputed, with estimates ranging from 200 to over 1,000.