WThe 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 January 1, 2000. The primary purpose of the invasion was to depose the de facto Panamanian leader, general and dictator Manuel Noriega. Noriega, who for a long time worked with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), was wanted by the United States for racketeering and drug trafficking. Following the operation, the Panama Defense Forces were dissolved and President-elect Guillermo Endara was sworn into office. The United Nations General Assembly and the Organization of American States condemned the invasion as a violation of international law.
WThe Capture of Torrijos Airport was a U.S military operation during the invasion of Panama. The goal of this operation was to capture the Panamanian air force, headquartered at the airport, and to close the airport to traffic coming into Panama.
WOperation Acid Gambit was a Delta Force operation to retrieve Kurt Muse, an American spy living in Panama who had been arrested for plotting the overthrow of the government of Panama, from the Cárcel Modelo, a notorious prison in Panama City.
WOperation Nifty Package was a United States Delta and Navy SEAL-operated plan conducted in 1989 designed to capture Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega. When Noriega took refuge in the Apostolic Nunciature of the Holy See, deafening music and other psychological warfare tactics were used to convince him to exit and surrender himself.
WThe Battle of Paitilla Airport was a battle between members of the Panama Defense Force and SEAL Team 4, on the 20th of December 1989, in the starting hours of Operation Just Cause. The force consisted of forty-eight U.S. Navy SEALs under the command of Lt. Cmdr. Patrick Toohey. The team was tasked with destroying Manuel Noriega's private jet on the ground at the Punta Paitilla Airport, in Panama City.
WThe Panama Deception is a 1992 American documentary film that won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. The film is critical of the actions of the U.S. military during the 1989 invasion of Panama, covering the conflicting reasons for the invasion. It also highlights media bias within the United States, showing events that were unreported or systematically misreported, including the downplaying of the number of civilian casualties. It was directed by Barbara Trent, written and edited by David Kasper, and narrated by actress Elizabeth Montgomery. It was a production of the Empowerment Project.
WThe Raid at Renacer Prison was an attack on the El Renacer prison in Gamboa, Panama, by units of the 82nd Airborne Division of the US Army on 20 December 1989, during the United States invasion of Panama. During the raid the U.S. military freed the sixty-four prisoners held in the detention facility and killed 5 soldiers of the Panama Defense Forces.
WThe Battle of Rio Hato Airfield took place during the U.S invasion of Panama and was fought between the U.S military and the Panamanian Defense Force (PDF). On 20 December US paratroopers launched a surprise attack against the Panamanian Army at Rio Hato, the largest PDF military base, approximately seventy miles south of Panama City.