A source close to the family of Manuel Noriega says the former Panamanian dictator has died at age 83. The onetime U.S. ally was ousted as Panama’s dictator by an American invasion in 1989 and spent years in prison in several countries.
Operation Just Cause resulted in the death of 26 U.S. troops and more than 325 wounded. PDF casualties were estimated at about 235 military and wildly divergent (200-3,000) figured when it comes to civilian casualties.
A Panama Defence Force patch for the 7th Infantry Co. the “Macho de monte” mountain man unit which, along with Battallion 2000 were considered the elite of Noriega’s forces. Currently on display at the USAF Armament Museum (Photo by Chris Eger)
“Jump Into Night, Torrijos Airport by Al Sprague Panama, 1989” The operation used 27,000 U.S. active, reserve and National Guard troops and included combat parachute jumps, Delta operations to rescue high-value personnel, and extensive use of Naval Special Operations to hobble the PDF.
Troops on the ground in Just Cause, note the extra M203 rounds
U.S. Army M-113 near the destroyed Panamanian Defense Force Headquarters Operation Just Cause, 21 December 1989
