Editing Manuel Noriega (section)

===Death of Torrijos===
After the [[Nicaraguan Revolution]] was launched by the Sandinistas against U.S.-backed authoritarian ruler [[Anastasio Somoza Debayle]] in August 1978, Torrijos and Noriega initially supported the rebels, providing them with surplus National Guard equipment and allowing Panama to be used as a cover for arms shipments from Cuba to Nicaragua.{{sfn|Dinges|1990|pp=100–103}} Torrijos sought for himself the same aura of "democratic respectability" that the Sandinista rebels had in Nicaragua, and so abandoned the title of "Maximum Leader" he had taken in 1972, promising that elections would be held in 1984.{{sfn|Dinges|1990|pp=100–103}} Noriega also arranged for weapons purchased in the U.S. to be shipped to the Sandinista forces, a deal on which he made a profit.{{sfn|Dinges|1990|pp=105–108}} The U.S. discovered Noriega's role in supplying weapons, and though the episode proved embarrassing to the [[Presidency of Jimmy Carter|Carter administration]] in the U.S., no charges were brought against Noriega because the U.S. did not wish to anger a friendly government, and the issue was rendered moot by the Sandinista victory in 1979.{{sfn|Dinges|1990|pp=108–110}} After Somoza's overthrow, Noriega continued to smuggle weapons, selling them to leftist guerrillas fighting the U.S.-backed authoritarian government in El Salvador.{{sfn|Dinges|1990|pp=111–115}} After one of these shipments was captured, Torrijos, who had friends in the Salvadoran military government, reprimanded Noriega, though the shipments did not stop altogether.{{sfn|Dinges|1990|pp=111–115}}

Torrijos died in a plane crash on July 31, 1981. A later investigation by the aircraft manufacturer stated it was an accident; Noriega's authority over the government investigation led to speculation about his involvement.{{sfn|Dinges|1990|pp=120–121}} [[Florencio Flores Aguilar]] had inherited Torrijos's position, but true power lay with the trio of Noriega, Díaz Herrera, and [[Rubén Darío Paredes]], who ranked just below him. Flores was removed in a quiet coup on March 3, 1982. By general agreement, Paredes was made leader until 1983, after which the military would work together to ensure his election as the president in the election scheduled for 1984.{{sfn|Dinges|1990|pp=138–142}} During this period Noriega became a full [[colonel]] and the National Guard's chief of staff, effectively the second-highest rank in the country.{{sfn|Dinges|1990|p=147}}{{sfn|Galván|2012|p=182}} He reformed the National Guard as the [[Panama Defense Forces]] (PDF), and with the financial assistance of the U.S., expanded and modernized it. The quick promotions they received earned him the officer corps' loyalty.{{sfn|Dinges|1990|p=10}} Among the steps he took to consolidate his control was to bring the various factions of the army together into the PDF.<ref name="nytimesobit" /> On August 12, 1983, in keeping with Noriega's earlier deal with Paredes, Paredes handed over his position to Noriega, newly appointed a [[General officer|general]], with the understanding that Noriega would allow him to stand for president.{{sfn|Dinges|1990|pp=150–154}} However, Paredes never received the political support he expected, and after assuming his new position Noriega reneged on the deal, telling Paredes he could not contest the election.{{sfn|Dinges|1990|pp=150–154}} Noriega, now head of the PDF, thus became the ''de facto'' ruler of Panama.<ref name="BBC1" />{{sfn|Dinges|1990|pp=138–142}}