Editing Panama (section)

===Post-colonial Panama===
[[File:Panama canal cartooon 1903.jpg|thumb|1903 political cartoon. The US government, working with separatists in Panama, engineered a [[Separation of Panama from Colombia|Panamanian declaration of independence]] from [[Colombia]], then sent US warships and marines to Panama to prevent Colombian intervention.<ref name="countrystudies"/>]]
{{See also|Separation of Panama from Colombia|Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty|History of Panama (1964–1977)}}
[[File:Roosevelt and the Canal.JPG|thumb|US President [[Theodore Roosevelt]] sitting on a steam shovel at the Panama Canal, 1906]]
In the 80 years following independence from Spain, Panama was a [[Subdivisions of Gran Colombia|subdivision of Gran Colombia]], after voluntarily joining the country at the end of 1821. It then became part of the [[Republic of New Granada]] in 1831 and was divided into several [[Provinces of the Republic of New Granada|provinces]]. In 1855, the autonomous [[Panama State|State of Panama]] was created within the Republic out of the New Granada provinces of Panama, Azuero, Chiriquí, and Veraguas. It continued as a state in the [[Granadine Confederation]] (1858–1863) and [[United States of Colombia]] (1863–1886). The [[Colombian Constitution of 1886|1886 constitution]] of the modern Republic of [[Colombia]] created a [[Panama Department (1886)|new Panama Department]].

The people of the isthmus made over 80 attempts to secede from Colombia. They came close to success in 1831, then again during the [[Thousand Days' War]] of 1899–1902, understood among indigenous Panamanians as a struggle for land rights under the leadership of Victoriano Lorenzo.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Müller-Schwarze|first1=Nina K.|title=The Blood of Victoriano Lorenzo: An Ethnography of the Cholos of Northern Coclé Province.|date=2015|publisher=McFarland Press|location=Jefferson, North Carolina}}</ref>

The US intent to influence the area, especially the Panama Canal's construction and control, led to the [[secession of Panama from Colombia]] in 1903 and its political independence. When the [[Senate of Colombia]] rejected the [[Hay–Herrán Treaty]] on January 22, 1903, the United States decided to support and encourage the Panamanian secessionist movement.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.banrepcultural.org/node/86421 |title=Separación de Panamá: la historia desconocida |publisher=banrepcultural.org |access-date=April 9, 2016 |archive-date=January 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180116174922/http://www.banrepcultural.org/node/86421 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="countrystudies">{{cite web|date = 2009|url = http://countrystudies.us/panama/8.htm|title = The 1903 Treaty and Qualified Independence|publisher = [[US Library of Congress]]|access-date = May 1, 2009|archive-date = October 11, 2011|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111011225556/http://countrystudies.us/panama/8.htm|url-status = live}}</ref>

In November 1903, Panama, tacitly supported by the United States, proclaimed its independence<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.banrepcultural.org/blaavirtual/revistas/credencial/junio2004/panama%20ultimo.htm |title=Panamá: el último año |publisher=banrepcultural.org |access-date=April 9, 2016 |archive-date=October 9, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171009021454/http://www.banrepcultural.org/blaavirtual/revistas/credencial/junio2004/panama%20ultimo.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> and concluded the [[Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty]] with the United States without the presence of a single Panamanian. [[Philippe Bunau-Varilla]], a French engineer and lobbyist represented Panama even though Panama's president and a delegation had arrived in New York to negotiate the treaty.  Bunau-Varilla was a shareholder in a French company (the ''Compagnie Nouvelle du Canal de Panama''), which had acquired the rights of the original French company which had gone bankrupt in 1889.{{sfn|McCullough|1977|pp=276-282}} The treaty was quickly drafted and signed the night before the Panamanian delegation arrived in Washington. The treaty granted rights to the United States "as if it were sovereign" in a [[Panama Canal Zone|zone]] roughly {{convert|10|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}} wide and {{convert|50|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}} long. In that zone, the US would build a canal, then administer, fortify, and defend it "in perpetuity".

[[File:Panama Canal under construction, 1907.jpg|thumb|Construction work on the [[Gaillard Cut]] of the Panama Canal, 1907]]

In 1914, the United States completed the existing {{convert|83|km||adj=mid|abbr=off|-long|sp=us}} canal.

Because of the strategic importance of the canal during [[World War II]], the US extensively fortified access to it.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Security and Defense of the Panama Canal, 1903-2000 |url=https://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00047733/00001 |access-date=2025-01-30 |website=ufdc.ufl.edu |archive-date=January 30, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250130202844/https://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00047733/00001 |url-status=live }}</ref>

From 1903 to 1968, Panama was a [[constitutional democracy]] dominated by a commercially oriented [[oligarchy]]. During the 1950s, the Panamanian military began to challenge the oligarchy's political hegemony. The early 1960s saw also the beginning of sustained pressure in Panama for the renegotiation of the [[Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty]], including riots that broke out in early 1964, resulting in widespread looting and dozens of deaths, and the evacuation of the American embassy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://adst.org/2016/07/panama-riots-1964-beginning-end-canal/|title=The Panama Riots of 1964: The Beginning of the End for the Canal|date=July 19, 2016|access-date=November 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181113025549/https://adst.org/2016/07/panama-riots-1964-beginning-end-canal/|archive-date=November 13, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Amid negotiations for the Robles–Johnson treaty, Panama held [[1968 Panamanian general election|elections in 1968]]. The candidates were:<ref name="Pizzurno Gelós 1989">Pizzurno Gelós, Patricia and Celestino Andrés Araúz (1996) ''Estudios sobre el Panamá Republicano (1903–1989)''. Colombia: Manfer S.A.</ref>
* Dr. [[Arnulfo Arias]] Madrid, Unión Nacional (National Union)
* Antonio González Revilla, [[People's Party (Panama)|Democracia Cristiana]] (Christian Democrats)
* Engr. David Samudio, Alianza del Pueblo (People's Alliance), who had the government's support.

Arias Madrid was declared the winner of elections that were marked by violence and accusations of fraud against Alianza del Pueblo. On October 1, 1968, Arias Madrid took office as president of Panama, promising to lead a government of "national union" that would end the reigning corruption and pave the way for a new Panama. A week and a half later, on October 11, 1968, the National Guard (Guardia Nacional) [[1968 Panamanian coup d'état|ousted]] Arias and initiated the downward spiral that would culminate with the United States' invasion in 1989. Arias, who had promised to respect the hierarchy of the National Guard, broke the pact and started a large restructuring of the Guard. To preserve the Guard's and his vested interests, Lieutenant Colonel [[Omar Torrijos]] Herrera and Major Boris Martínez commanded another military coup against the government.<ref name="Pizzurno Gelós 1989"/>

The military justified itself by declaring that Arias Madrid was trying to install a dictatorship, and promised a return to constitutional rule. In the meantime, the Guard began a series of populist measures that would gain support for the coup. Among them were:
* Price freezing on food, medicine and other goods<ref>Pizzurno Gelós, Patricia and Celestino Andrés Araúz (1996) ''Estudios sobre el Panamá Republicano (1903–1989)''. Colombia: Manfer S.A., p. 529.</ref> until January 31, 1969
* rent level freeze
* legalization of the permanence of squatting families in boroughs surrounding the historic site of Panama Viejo<ref name="Pizzurno Gelós 1989"/>
Parallel to this, the military began a policy of repression against the opposition, who were labeled communists. The military appointed a Provisional Government Junta that was to arrange new elections. However, the National Guard would prove to be very reluctant to abandon power and soon began calling itself ''El Gobierno Revolucionario'' (The Revolutionary Government).

====Post-1970====
[[File:Omar Torrijos with Panamanian farmers.jpg|thumb|[[Omar Torrijos]] (right) with farmers in the Panamanian countryside. The Torrijos government was well known for its policies of [[land redistribution]].]]

Under [[Omar Torrijos]]'s control, the military transformed the political and economic structure of the country, initiating massive coverage of social security services and expanding public education.

The constitution was changed in 1972. To reform the constitution, the military created a new organization, the Assembly of Corregimiento Representatives, which replaced the National Assembly. The new assembly, also known as the Poder Popular (Power of the People), was composed of 505 members selected by the military with no participation from political parties, which the military had eliminated. The new constitution proclaimed [[Omar Torrijos]] as the Maximum Leader of the Panamanian Revolution, and conceded him unlimited power for six years, although, to keep a façade of constitutionality, [[Demetrio B. Lakas]] was appointed president for the same period.<ref name="Pizzurno Gelós 1989"/>

In 1981, Torrijos died in a plane crash.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/08/02/obituaries/panama-leader-killed-in-crash-in-bad-weather.html|title=PANAMA LEADER KILLED IN CRASH IN BAD WEATHER|last=International|first=United Press|work=The New York Times|date=August 2, 1981|access-date=June 1, 2018|language=en|archive-date=August 17, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180817120658/https://www.nytimes.com/1981/08/02/obituaries/panama-leader-killed-in-crash-in-bad-weather.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Torrijos' death altered the tone of Panama's political evolution. Despite the [[1983 Panamanian constitutional referendum|1983 constitutional amendments]] which proscribed a political role for the military, the [[Panama Defense Forces|Panama Defense Force]] (PDF), as they were then known, continued to dominate Panamanian political life. By this time, General [[Manuel Noriega|Manuel Antonio Noriega]] was firmly in control of both the PDF and the civilian government.{{when|date=May 2016}}

[[File:Jimmy Carter and General Omar Torrijos signing the Panama Canal Treaty.jpg|thumb|US President [[Jimmy Carter]] shakes hands with General [[Omar Torrijos]] after signing the [[Torrijos–Carter Treaties|Panama Canal Treaties]] (September 7, 1977).]]
In the [[1984 Panamanian general election|1984 elections]], the candidates were:
* [[Nicolás Ardito Barletta Vallarino]], supported by the military in a union called UNADE
* Arnulfo Arias Madrid, for the opposition union ADO
* ex-General [[Rubén Darío Paredes]], who had been forced to an early retirement by Manuel Noriega, running for the Partido Nacionalista Popular (PAP; "Popular Nationalist Party")
* Carlos Iván Zúñiga, running for the Partido Acción Popular (PAPO; Popular Action Party)
Barletta was declared the winner of elections that had been considered to be fraudulent. Barletta inherited a country in economic ruin and hugely indebted to the [[International Monetary Fund]] and the [[World Bank]]. Amid the economic crisis and Barletta's efforts to calm the country's creditors, street protests arose, and so did military repression.

Meanwhile, Noriega's regime had fostered a well-hidden criminal economy that operated as a parallel source of income for the military and their allies, providing revenues from drugs and [[money laundering]]. Toward the end of the military dictatorship, a new wave of Chinese migrants arrived on the isthmus in the hope of migrating to the United States. The smuggling of Chinese became an enormous business, with revenues of up to 200 million dollars for Noriega's regime (see Mon 167).<ref>Mon Pinzón, Ramón Arturo (1979). ''Historia de la Migración China Durante la Construcción del Ferrocarril de Panamá''. Masters Thesis. México: El Colegio de México.</ref>

The military dictatorship assassinated or tortured more than one hundred Panamanians and forced at least a hundred more dissidents into exile. (see Zárate 15).<ref>Zárate, Abdiel (November 9, 2003). "Muertos y desaparecidos durante la época militar." Extra-centennial issue of ''La Prensa''.</ref> Noriega's regime was supported by the United States and it began playing a double role in Central America. While the [[Contadora group]], an initiative launched by the foreign ministers of various Latin American nations including Panama's, conducted diplomatic efforts to achieve peace in the region, Noriega supplied Nicaraguan [[Contras]] and other guerrillas in the region with weapons and ammunition on behalf of the CIA.<ref name="Pizzurno Gelós 1989"/>

On June 6, 1987, the recently retired Colonel Roberto Díaz Herrera, resentful that Noriega had broken the agreed-upon "Torrijos Plan" of succession that would have made him the chief of the military after Noriega, decided to denounce the regime. He revealed details of electoral fraud,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Preston |first=Julia |date=July 6, 1987 |title=PANAMANIAN PRESIDENT CALLS FOR PROBE |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1987/07/06/panamanian-president-calls-for-probe/34559ca5-6139-4669-8ff5-dcd056b9b7ca/ |access-date=March 22, 2022 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> accused Noriega of planning Torrijos's death and declared that Torrijos had received 12 million dollars from the Shah of Iran for giving the exiled Iranian leader asylum. He also accused Noriega of the assassination by decapitation of then-opposition leader, Dr. [[Hugo Spadafora]].<ref name="Pizzurno Gelós 1989"/><ref>{{Cite news |date=December 21, 1989 |title=Fighting in Panama; Panama's Troubled Past |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/21/world/fighting-in-panama-panama-s-troubled-past.html |access-date=March 22, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322030333/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/21/world/fighting-in-panama-panama-s-troubled-past.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

On the night of June 9, 1987, the Cruzada Civilista ("Civic Crusade") was created{{where|date=May 2016}} and began organizing actions of civil disobedience. The Crusade called for a general strike. In response, the military suspended constitutional rights and declared a state of emergency in the country. On July 10, the [[Civic Crusade]] called for a massive demonstration that was violently repressed by the "Dobermans", the military's special riot control unit. That day, later known as El Viernes Negro ("Black Friday"), left many people injured and killed.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Becker |first=Meghan |date=March 28, 2010 |title=Panamanians campaign to overthrow dictator (The Civic Crusade), 1987-1989 |url=https://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/panamanians-campaign-overthrow-dictator-civic-crusade-1987-1989 |access-date=April 30, 2022 |website=Swarthmore.edu |publisher=Swarthmore |archive-date=May 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513215929/https://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/panamanians-campaign-overthrow-dictator-civic-crusade-1987-1989 |url-status=live }}</ref>

United States President [[Ronald Reagan]] began a series of sanctions against the military regime. The United States froze economic and military assistance to Panama in the middle of 1987 in response to the domestic political crisis in Panama and an attack on the US embassy. The sanctions failed to oust Noriega, but severely hurt Panama's economy. Panama's gross domestic product (GDP) declined almost 25 percent between 1987 and 1989.<ref name="Acosta, Coleen 2008">Acosta, Coleen (October 24, 2008). [https://web.stanford.edu/class/e297a/Panama%20Imperialism%20and%20Struggle.htm "Iraq: a Lesson from Panama Imperialism and Struggle for Sovereignty"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211003220042/https://web.stanford.edu/class/e297a/Panama%20Imperialism%20and%20Struggle.htm |date=October 3, 2021 }}. ''Journals of the Stanford Course on Prejudice and Poverty''.</ref>

On February 5, 1988, General Manuel Antonio Noriega was accused of drug trafficking by federal juries in Tampa and Miami. [[Human Rights Watch]] wrote in its 1989 report: "Washington turned a blind eye to abuses in Panama for many years until concern over drug trafficking prompted indictments of the general [Noriega] by two grand juries in Florida in February 1988".<ref name="Panama">[https://www.hrw.org/reports/1989/WR89/Panama.htm "Panama"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170113164637/https://www.hrw.org/reports/1989/WR89/Panama.htm |date=January 13, 2017 }}. ''Human Rights Watch World Report 1989''. hrw.org</ref>

In April 1988, US President Ronald Reagan invoked the [[International Emergency Economic Powers Act]], freezing Panamanian government assets in all US organizations. In May 1989 Panamanians voted overwhelmingly for the anti-Noriega candidates. The Noriega regime promptly annulled the election and embarked on a new round of repression.

[[File:Panama clashes 1989.JPEG|thumb|The aftermath of urban warfare during the [[United States invasion of Panama|US invasion of Panama]], 1989]]

====US invasion (1989)====
{{Further|United States invasion of Panama}}

The United States invaded Panama on December 20, 1989, codenamed [[Operation Just Cause]]. The U.S. stated the operation was "necessary to safeguard the lives of U.S. citizens in Panama, defend democracy and human rights, combat drug trafficking, and secure the neutrality of the Panama Canal as required by the [[Torrijos–Carter Treaties]]".<ref>''New York Times''. A Transcript of President Bush's Address on the Decision to Use Force, December 21, 1989. Web. January 2, 2008.</ref> The US reported 23 servicemen killed and 324 wounded, with the number of Panamanian soldiers killed estimated at 450. The estimates for civilians killed in the conflict ranges from 200 to 4,000. The United Nations put the Panamanian civilian death toll at 500, [[Americas Watch]] estimated 300, the United States gave a figure of 202 civilians killed and former US attorney general [[Ramsey Clark]] estimated 4,000 deaths.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/01/world/panama-and-us-strive-to-settle-on-death-toll.html |title=Panama and U.S. Strive To Settle on Death Toll |last=Rohter |first=Larry |work=The New York Times |date=April 1990 |access-date=April 15, 2018 |archive-date=August 15, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180815143126/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/01/world/panama-and-us-strive-to-settle-on-death-toll.html |url-status=live }}</ref> It represented the largest United States military operation since the Vietnam War.<ref>Cajar Páez, Aristides. "La invasion." Extra-centennial issue of La Prensa, Nov.9 (2003): 22. Print.</ref> The number of US civilians (and their dependents), who had worked for the [[Panama Canal Authority|Panama Canal Commission]] and the US military, and were killed by the Panamanian Defense Forces, has never been fully disclosed.

On December 29, the [[United Nations General Assembly]] approved a resolution calling the intervention in Panama a "flagrant violation of international law and of the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the States".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/44/a44r240.htm|title=A/RES/44/240. Effects of the military intervention by the United States of America in Panama on the situation in Central America|website=UN.org|access-date=June 29, 2017|archive-date=October 24, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171024215048/http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/44/a44r240.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> A similar resolution was vetoed in the [[United Nations Security Council|Security Council]] by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/24/world/fighting-panama-united-nations-security-council-condemnation-invasion-vetoed.html|title=Fighting in Panama: United Nations; Security Council Condemnation of Invasion Vetoed|first1=Paul|last1=Lewis|first2=Special to The New York|last2=Times|newspaper=The New York Times|date=December 24, 1989|access-date=February 11, 2017|archive-date=December 8, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161208053954/http://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/24/world/fighting-panama-united-nations-security-council-condemnation-invasion-vetoed.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Noriega was captured and flown to Miami to be tried. The conflict ended on January 31, 1990.

The urban population, many living below the poverty level, was greatly affected by the 1989 intervention. As pointed out in 1995 by a UN Technical Assistance Mission to Panama, the fighting displaced 20,000 people. The most heavily affected district was the [[El Chorrillo]] area of Panama City, where several blocks of apartments were completely destroyed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.roatan.com/About-Locations/Panama.pdf|title=Panama |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304103819/http://www.roatan.com/About-Locations/Panama.pdf|archive-date=March 4, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://topdocumentaryfilms.com/the-panama-deception/|title=The Panama Deception|via=topdocumentaryfilms.com|access-date=May 5, 2019|archive-date=May 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190505070320/https://topdocumentaryfilms.com/the-panama-deception/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Blum, William. Killing Hope: U.S. Military and C.I.A. Interventions Since World War II -Common Courage Press, 2008.</ref> The economic damage caused by the fighting has been estimated at between 1.5 and 2 billion dollars.<ref name="Acosta, Coleen 2008"/> Most [[Panamanians]] supported the intervention.<ref name="Panama"/><ref>Pastor, Robert A. (2001) ''Exiting the Whirlpool: U.S. Foreign Policy Toward Latin America and the Caribbean'', p. 96, {{ISBN|0813338115}}.</ref>