SUMMARY
Panama was under Spanish rule for more than 300 years, until 1821 when Panama became part of Colombia. Until 1830, Panama was joined by Ecuador and Venezuela in the union called the Republic of Gran Colombia, but remained as part of Colombia when the union dissolved. On 3 November 1903, Panama separated from Colombia, with the support of the United States which had geopolitical interest in the area, aiming to secure a treaty with the Government of Panama to build a canal through the country. Panama became a constitutional democracy, with Manuel Amador Guerrero from the Conservative Party, as its first President.
In 1968, a bloodless coup was carried out by the military and the National Guard took over governmental power. The constitution was changed and a military dictatorship was imposed. The commander of the National Guard, General Torrijos Herrera was given full executive powers, even though a civilian government served as a façade. Torrijos functioned as the country’s dictator from 1968 to 1983; from 1983 to 1989, General Manuel Antonio Noriega held this position.
In early May 1989, presidential elections were held in Panama and the opposition leader, Guillermo Endara from the Panamenista Party, defeated the presidential candidate that was supported by the country’s de facto leader Manuel Noriega, by a three to one margin. Within a few days, Noriega annulled the election results and sanctioned violence against the opposition. On 3 October 1989, Major Moisés Giroldi of the Panama Defense Force, previously called the National Guard, attempted to topple Noriega. A group of officers captured the military headquarters by force. They succeeded in making Noriega and his general staff retire from their posts for a few hours, until troops loyal to Noriega regained control of the installation after heavy fighting. The rebels, and officers suspected of collaborating with them, were arrested or killed.
Relations between Panama and the US deteriorated in the late 1980s. The United States had previously been an important partner in trade and had supported the Panama Defense Force with military training. The military dictatorship, its involvement in the drug trade and alleged political killings, put strains on the two countries’ relations, and the US pressured Noriega, both politically and through economic sanctions, calling for democratic reforms and for Noriega to step down. The Government of Panama reacted by seeking support from adversaries to the US instead, such as Cuba, Nicaragua and Libya. After the failed coup attempt in 1989, the Government of Panama accused the US of having supported Giroldi’s military faction. Even though the US had had significant military presence in the Panama in order to control the Panama Canal, these troops had not supported the coup attempt. Nevertheless, the Government of the United States had begun to plan for a military intervention in Panama in order to overthrow Noriega’s government, and had extensively reinforced its forces in Panama since 1988. All of these developments came together in December 1989, after Panama had declared that the country was in a state of war with the US. On 20 December, US forces invaded Panama, and succeeded in ousting Noriega. The opposition leader Guillermo Endara, who had won the elections earlier in the year, was instated as president. Over the coming years, a number of democratic reforms were made by the Panamanian government, however, the country have recurrently struggled with corruption and government inefficiency. The general elections in May 2019 had high participation and were won by Laurentino Cortizo of the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD). President Cortizo vowed to fight corruption and to strengthen Panama’s relationship with the United States.
The military forces of Panama influenced or dominated most of the country’s political and economic arena for more than 30 years during the military dictatorship. In 1989, the military and police forces together included more than 14 000 troops. After the end of military rule, Panama abolished its armed forces in 1990, and the amended constitution, ratified in 1994, prohibited any standing military force. As of 2018, Panama had a lightly armed police force and an aeronaval service force, which constituted the country’s security services.
