Panama: Background And Buildup To Invasion Of 1989
Useful, interesting information on Panama, in the forefront during the Summit:
Panama: Background And Buildup To Invasion Of 1989
by Jane Franklin; Tuesday, September 18, 2007
. . .
OVERTHROW OF THE OLIGARCHY
1968: On October 11, the National Guard, under Col. Omar Torrijos, overthrows the government of the oligarchy and installs a junta from which Torrijos emerges the leader. He heads the armed forces 1968-81. Torrijos moves toward independence from Washington, relying on the nationalist base. Torrijos is not part of the oligarchy; his base comes from the dispossessed. Under his leadership, the Panamanian Defense Forces become part of the movement for national liberation. During the government of Torrijos and the National Guard, public schools increase from fewer than 2,000 to more than 3,000; infant mortality decreases from 40 to 25 per 1,000 live births; social security is extended by more than 1 million; roads and electricity are brought to rural areas; labor unions grow.
1972: Junta is confirmed by election. Torrijos remains as the head of Panamanian Defense Forces.
1974: Panama and Cuba re-establish diplomatic relations.
1976: General Omar Torrijos makes a state visit to Cuba. In the joint communiqué issued by the two countries, Cuba supports Panama's struggle for sovereignty in the Canal Zone.
1976: On December 8, CIA Director George H.W. Bush meets with Manuel Noriega for lunch at the home of the Panamanian ambassador to the United States. Noriega, a graduate of the School of the Americas, is on the CIA payroll.
1977: The Carter Administration signs three agreements known as the Carter-Torrijos treaties, arranging for the return of the Panama Canal Zone to Panama at midnight December 31, 1999.
1979: The Carter-Torrijos treaties take effect October 1 and 65 percent of the Canal Zone is returned to Panama. Areas still under U.S. control are called green zones; those under Panamanian conrol are white zones. Washington has the responsibility of operating and defending the Canal through December 31, 1999, but not after that.
1981: Ronald Reagan becomes president January 20, with his commitment not to "lose" the Canal. Six months later, on July 31, General Omar Torrijos is killed in an airplane crash.
1983: On January 5, in an effort to settle Central American conflicts, the foreign ministers of Colombia, Mexico, Panama and Venezuela meet on the Panamanian island of Contadora and draft an initial proposal, calling for an end to all foreign intervention in the region, suspension of all military aid, and negotiations to end El Salvador's civil war and the fighting in Nicaragua between government troops and "contras."
More:
http://janefranklin.info/PanamaChronology.html
