Panamanians commemorate those killed in the 1989 US invasion

(December 22, 2019) Panamanian relatives of those killed during the 1989 US invasion of the country brought flowers to the graves of their loved ones to honor their memory on the 30th anniversary of the US military action that ousted leader Manuel Noriega.

The US invasion

Wikipedia describes the US invasion: "The United States Invasion of Panama, codenamed Operation Just Cause, lasted over a month between mid-December 1989 and late January 1990. It occurred during the administration of President George H. W. Bush and ten years after the Torrijos–Carter Treaties were ratified to transfer control of the Panama Canal from the U.S. to Panama by 1 January 2000. During the invasion, de facto Panamanian leader, general, and dictator Manuel Noriega, who for a long time worked with the Central Intelligence Agency, was deposed citing racketeering and drug trafficking. Following the operation, the Panama Defense Forces was dissolved and President-elect Guillermo Endara was sworn into office."

Panamanian president at the ceremony

The President Laurentino Cortizo participated in the event that took place at the Jardin de Paz cemetery in the capital, Panama City. About 130 of those killed in the invasion are buried in the cemetery. In the afternoon, demonstrators marched through the city center to the El Chorrillo neighborhood which was devastated by bombs during the invasion.

According to official figures 514 Panamanians both troops and civilians died in the invasion. However, human rights groups say the number was far larger. 23 US troops were killed. The US invasion consisted of about 27,000 troops and ended the 21-year military regime.

Cortizo said: “What we have to be doing is seeking the truth, so that the families of the many disappeared know where their loved ones’ remains are.”

For the first time, this was an official day of mourning

Panama for the time made the anniversary an official day of mourning. The victims' families had been asking for such recognition for years. Although flags flew at half-mast businesses and government offices stayed open and commercial Xmas shopping went on as usual.

The Truth Commission

Cortizo promised his government would provide full economic backing for a Truth Commission established back in 2016. Early next year the remains of unidentified victims will be exhumed and compared against DNA from people whose relatives are still; unaccounted for. Cortizo, who took office last July, said that only the truth could heal the wounds of the relatives. The relatives have asked that December 20 be made a permanent day of mourning with closures and dry laws,

Alicia Chiru, now 81 years old said who visited the grave of her son an air force captain killed in the invasion: “It is very painful to remember all this. We are reliving it as if it were yesterday. Those wounds, the broken heart, do not heal.”

Previously published in the Digital Journal