President George H. W. Bush and the Chairman of the Joint

Chiefs of Staff, General Colin Powell, announce the invasion

of Panama, December 20, 1989.

Panama America, Panama

The U.S. Invasion of Panama: 'Greatest Genocide in Our History'

"Men and women climbed atop gringo tanks and merrily took photos of themselves with U.S. soldiers - but only those with green eyes and blond hair. In the coming months, history recalls the U.S. ambassador issuing orders to the Republic of Panama's cabinet. All of these facts, far from creating a heroic narrative, border on the most blatant treason."

By Oriel A. Domínguez C.

Translated By Halszka Czarnocka

December 20, 2010

Panama - Panama America - Original Article (Spanish)

The invasion of Panama is without doubt the greatest genocide in our history. However, no one knows exactly how many Panamanians were killed. This is partly due to those subservient to the late President Endara and his government, which banned the question from the 1990 census of whether someone within the family had died during the invasion.

Just to remind you of certain facts that launched our democratic era: no one can change the fact that Guillermo Endara, Ricardo Arias Calderon and Guillermo Ford were dining at a U.S. military base just hours before the invasion, and during that dinner, they were told that we were about to be invaded. Nobody knows how they reacted, but it doesn't seem that they vehemently opposed the idea, since that same night, they took up their new posts after having embraced the same soldiers who massacred us with the most modern weapons.

[Editor's Note: In December of 1989, the U.S. launched Operation Just Cause to depose Panamanian Dictator Manuel Noriega.

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One such weapon was the F-117 Stealth Nighthawk Fighter, three out of four bombs of which failed to precisely target Central Headquarters [of the Panamanian Defense Forces]. Although this fact is acknowledged by the invaders, many today still foolishly believe that the Chorrillo neighborhood was set alight by the Dignity Battalions [Manuel Noriegas paramilitary forces].

Another fact is that, at that time, many Panamanians, despite what had happened, welcomed the invaders with great joy, even wearing T-shirts that said Just Cause and waving U.S. flags. Some even worked for the United States and came out proudly wearing Yankee military uniforms.

That's to say nothing of those, men and women, who climbed atop gringo tanks and merrily took photos of themselves with U.S. soldiers - but only those with green eyes and blond hair. In the coming months, history recalls the ambassador of the United States issuing orders to the Republic of Panama's cabinet. All of these facts, far from creating a heroic narrative, border on the most blatant treason.

How sad it is, that today is considered a Day of Reflection. After 21 years, no matter how we look at it, the invasion had nothing to do with being "just."

With such an attitude, we will never become a first world nation. Well have to wait until this entire generation dies out, just as the Jews who came out of Egypt with a slave mentality had to die, in order to begin building a country with dignity and merit; a country where patriotism is above all else.

Let us hope that one day well be able to honor those who gave their lives for their country as they deserve. We shall never forget them.

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[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US January 2, 4:39pm]