rgo ship Ancon.
After World War II, United States control of the canal and the Canal Zone surrounding it became contentious as relations between Panama and the U.S. became increasingly tense. Many Panamanians felt that the Canal Zone rightfully belonged to Panama; student protests were met by the fencing in of the zone and an increased military presence. Negotiations toward a new settlement began in 1974, and resulted in the Torrijos-Carter Treaties. Signed by President Jimmy Carter and Omar Torrijos of Panama on September 7, 1977, this set in motion the process of handing the canal over to Panamanian control without charge. Though controversial within the U.S., the treaty led to gradual Panamanian control, with full control to become effective on December 31, 1999, at which time it was transferred to the Panama Canal Authority (ACP).
President Torrijos died in a mysterious plane crash on August 1, 1981. The circumstances of his death generated charges and speculation that he was the victim of an assassination plot. Torrijos' death altered the tone but not the direction of Panama's political evolution. Despite 1983 constitutional amendments, which appeared to proscribe a political role for the military, the Panama Defense Forces (PDF), as they were then known, continued to dominate Panamanian political life behind a facade of civilian government. By this time, Gen. Manuel Noriega was firmly in control of both the PDF and the civilian government, and had created the Dignity Battalions to help suppress opposition.
Despite covert collaboration with Ronald Reagan on his Contra war in Nicaragua, relations between the United States and the Panama regime worsened in the 1980s. The United States froze economic and military assistance to Panama in the summer of 1987, in response to the domestic political crisis and an attack on the U.S. embassy. General Noriega's February 1988 indictment in U.S. courts on drug trafficking charges sharpened tensions. In April 1988, President Reagan invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, freezing Panamanian Government assets in U.S. banks, withholding fees for using the canal, and prohibiting payments by American agencies, firms, and individuals to the Noriega regime. The country went into turmoil.
When national elections were held in May 1989, the elections were marred by accusations of fraud from both sides. However, the elections proceeded as planned, and Panamanians voted for the anti-Noriega candidates by a margin of over three-to-one. When Guillermo Endara won the election, the Noriega regime annulled the election, citing massive U.S. interference. Foreign election observers, including the Catholic Church and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, certified the electoral victory of Endara despite widespread attempts at fraud by the regime. At the behest of the United States, the Organization of American States convened a meeting of foreign ministers but was unable to obtain Noriega's departure. By the fall of 1989, the regime was barely clinging to power.
The U.S. began sending thousands of troops to bases in the Canal Zone. Panamanian authorities alleged that U.S. troops left their bases and illegally stopped and searched vehicles in Panama. During this time, an American Marine got lost in the former French quarter of Panama City, ran a roadblock, and was killed by Panamanian Police (who were then a part of the Panamanian Military). On December 20, 1989, the United States troops commenced an invasion of Panama. Their primary objectives were achieved quickly, and the combatants' withdrawal began on December 27. Endara was sworn in as President at a U.S. military base on the day of the invasion.
General Manuel Noriega is now serving a 40-year sentence for drug trafficking. Estimates as to the loss of life on the Panamanian side vary between 500 and 7,000. Much of the Chorillo neighborhood was destroyed by fire shortly after the start of the invasion. Following the invasion, President George H. W. Bush announced one billion dollars in aid to Panama. Of this amount, $400 million c