The United States invasion of Panama began in mid-December 1989 during the presidency of George H. W. Bush. The purpose of the invasion was to depose the de facto ruler of Panama, General Manuel Norie
Clockwise from top: Marines stand guard with their LAV-25 Aircraft parked at Tocumen Airport Three U.S. soldiers walk past a restaurant Flames engulf a Panama City neighborhood
1st Lt Robert Paz, 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines
George H. W. Bush President of United States of America at the time
Elements of 1st Bn, 508th Infantry parachuting into a drop zone, during training, outside of Panama City
Manuel Noriega
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Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno was a Panamanian military officer and politician who was the de facto ruler of Panama from 1983 to 1989. He never officially served as president of Panama, instead ruling
United States invasion of Panama
…began in mid-December 1989 during the presidency of George H. W. Bush. The purpose of the invasion was to depose the de facto ruler of Panama, General Manuel Noriega, who was wanted by U.S. authorities for racketeering and drug trafficking. The operation, codenamed Operation Just Cause, concluded in late January…
Noriega's mugshot after his surrender to U.S. forces in 1990
Noriega in an Instituto Nacional yearbook
The School of the Americas (photographed in 2006), where Noriega took several courses
United States President Jimmy Carter shaking hands with General Omar Torrijos after signing the Panama Canal Treaty in 1977