A Small War in Panama
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A Small War in Panama The main Air Force contribution to Operation Just Cause was the airlift, which doubled the number of combat troops in the country. By John T. Correll n 1989, the United States decided “You could not buy Manuel Noriega, juries in Miami and Tampa, Fla., to take down the Noriega regime in but you could rent him,” said Gen. Colin indicted Noriega on 13 counts of Panama by military force. Manuel L. Powell, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs violating US racketeering and drug Antonio Noriega had been dictator of Staff. laws. The indictments said he took Iof the country since 1983. Over the In addition to his moonlighting for the $4.6 million in payoffs for allowing the years, he had been on and off the CIA CIA, Noriega had side deals with Cuba, Colombian cartel to use Panamanian payroll, but that relationship soured as Libya, and other intelligence customers, ports and airports to ship cocaine to the his corruption, repression, and collusion and he allowed the Soviet KGB to oper- United States. In retaliation, the PDF in drug smuggling became too blatant ate freely in Panama. His ties with the intensified harassment of US military to ignore. Medellin drug cartel in Colombia were members and dependents in Panama. Noriega had risen in the service of close and of long standing. The United States had a stake in Panama’s previous dictator, Omar Torrijos, Noriega was ruthless in eliminating Panamanian affairs because of both who called him “my gangster.” the opposition. He ousted two elected the drug smuggling and continuing US Torrijos died in an airplane crash in Presidents when they resisted his will. responsibility for Panama Canal security. 1981, and Noriega eventually emerged as In September 1985, the headless body The treaty adopted in 1979 set a 20-year his successor—promoting himself from of one of his enemies was dumped transition period, with full control of the lieutenant colonel to four-star general. across the border in Costa Rica in a canal to pass from the United States to His power base was command of the US mailbag. Roving paramilitary gangs Panama in 1999. Panama Defense Force, which included called “dignity battalions” or “digbats” Until then, US forces were based at not only the armed forces but also the intimidated dissenters. a dozen installations in what had pre- police, customs, and investigative services. In June 1987, the US Senate adopted viously been the Panama Canal Zone. The PDF owned hotels, liquor stores, by a vote of 84-to-two a resolution The Army had an infantry brigade at and newspapers and extorted millions calling for Noriega and his associates Ft. Clayton. Rotational Air National of dollars through its protection rackets. to “relinquish their duties” pending an Guard and Reserve units and some The nominal government leaders, the independent investigation of the cor- special operations forces were stationed President and the national assembly, did ruption and political violence charges at Howard Air Force Base in Panama. Noriega’s bidding. against them. In February 1988, grand About 50,000 US citizens lived in 56 AIR FORCE Magazine / December 2009 when he was director of the CIA, Bush Facing page: C-141 and C-130 trans- had met with Noriega. As vice president ports flew airlift missions into Panama, in 1988, Bush had urged the Reagan beefing up personnel and supplies in preparation for Just Cause. Above: Administration to support the grand Flames overtake city buildings during jury indictments in Florida. His position the operation. became still tougher after the election in Panama in May 1989. The anti-Noriega Nothing had to be done to energize Thur- coalition, led by Guillermo Endara, won man. “He is mobilized when he gets up by a three-to-one margin, but Noriega in the morning, which is in the middle of annulled the election results. Digbats the night,” an admirer on the Joint Staff armed with clubs and metal bars attacked said. Thurman chose Lt. Gen. Carl W. Endara and the other winners. Endara, Stiner to be his war planner, in command struck in the head, was hospitalized and of Joint Task Force South. The chain afterward was attacked again. One of of command was to be simple. “Carl his bodyguards was killed. Stiner is my warfighter, and everybody in Panama carrying a gun works for Carl Sand Fleas Stiner,” Thurman said. Several days later, Bush sent 2,000 Powell, a principal in the activity to additional troops to Panama, supposedly come, became Chairman of the Joint Manuel Noriega holds a placard show- to protect American lives and property. Chiefs of Staff Oct. 1, 1989. On Oct. ing his federal ID number at his booking Southern Command conducted exercises 3, three days after Thurman assumed by the US Marshals Service in Miami. called “Sand Fleas” to visibly assert US command, disgruntled elements of the treaty and maneuver rights. PDF attempted to overthrow Noriega in Panama, 10,300 of them members of In September, Secretary of Defense a coup that failed. As with a similar coup the armed forces. The headquarters of Richard B. Cheney relieved Army Gen. attempt that failed the previous year, the US Southern Command was at Quarry Frederick F. Woerner in the middle of United States avoided involvement, see- Heights in Panama City, 600 yards up his tour as commander of Southern ing no advantage in trading one bunch the hill from PDF headquarters at the Command. of PDF thugs for another. Comandancia. Woerner, regarded as too easygoing Thurman concentrated on prepara- The Bush Administration, which to handle the situation, was replaced by tions to carry out an operations plan, came to office in January 1989, took a Gen. Maxwell R. Thurman, one of the dubbed “Blue Spoon,” to topple the hard line toward Noriega. Years earlier, hardest-charging officers in the Army. regime and capture Noriega. The AIR FORCE Magazine / December 2009 57 However, all efforts to preserve tac- tical surprise soon evaporated. With C-141s landing at Howard every 10 minutes, it was obvious that something AP photo/Terry Ashe was about to happen. US troops warned their Panamanian girlfriends to stay home. That informa- tion soon reached the PDF, as did reports of various conversations by Americans overheard by Panamanians. At 10 p.m., Dan Rather reported on CBS that “US military transport planes have left Ft. Bragg. ... The Pentagon declines to say whether or not they’re bound for Panama.” The loss of security might have been more serious except that the PDF’s key decision-maker, Manuel Noriega, was drunk and carousing. When the para- A C-130 Hercules skims the Panamanian coast en route to Howard AFB, Panama, troopers landed at Tocumen, Noriega’s during Just Cause. aides rousted the groggy general and his companion of the evening from Justice Department ruled that the US forces in Panama. Other Air Force a nearby bungalow and rushed them restriction on use of military forces elements, notably AC-130 gunships, into hiding. to enforce civilian laws—the Posse would provide strong support for the Just before midnight, a new govern- Comitatus Act—did not necessarily operation. ment—President Guillermo Endara prevent forces from helping enforce and others who had been legally elected US laws outside territorial jurisdiction A Loss of Security in May 1989—were sworn in at Quarry of the United States. Execution of Blue “Trigger events” were not long in Heights by a Panamanian judge. Spoon awaited what planners called a coming. On Dec. 15, Panama’s National By H-Hour or shortly afterward, “trigger event.” Assembly passed a resolution declar- MAC had brought in 7,000 additional The PDF did not amount to much as ing that a state of war existed with the troops, including the paratroopers. Over a military threat. Its total strength was United States. It named Noriega the the next several days, the airlift would 12,800, of which 4,000 were combat “Maximum Leader.” deliver another 7,000, raising the total forces. It had 38 light airplanes, 17 he- On Dec. 16, the PDF shot three of US forces in Panama to 27,000, most licopters, and no significant air defense American officers at a road block, of them combat forces. capability. In a conflict, there would be killing one of them. The PDF also The job for Stiner’s joint task force no air attack on US ground forces. The arrested and assaulted a US naval of- was to neutralize or secure 27 key posi- United States had more than air supe- ficer and his wife who had witnessed tions and PDF installations, most of them riority. It had an air monopoly. the shooting. Almost 13,000 US troops were in As D-Day approached, Operation Panama prior to reinforcement. The Blue Spoon was renamed “Just Cause.” operation would be mostly launched D-Day would be Dec. 20, with H-Hour from the in-country US bases, which at 1 a.m. were close to the targets to be assaulted. In November, Military Airlift Com- Thurman’s command center was in a mand C-5s had secretly delivered Army secure area of Quarry Heights, next door helicopters and tanks to Howard Air to the Comandancia. Stiner’s headquar- Force Base, where they were concealed ters was at Ft. Clayton. Army Maj. Gen. in hangars and under cover. More troops Wayne A. Downing, commander of the and supplies arrived in December. Joint Special Operations Task Force, was US paratroopers would jump on the at Howard Air Force Base, just across big PDF base at Rio Hato, on the Pacific the canal from Panama City.