SUMMARY

The Military faction (forces of Moisés Giroldi) was an armed group in Panama that carried out an unsuccessful coup attempt against the Government of Panama in October 1989. The group was led by Major Moisés Giroldi Vega, which previously had had the responsibility to quell the latest attempt to overthrow the Panamanian government in March 1988.

The Military faction (forces of Moisés Giroldi) is a name assigned to the group, in accordance with UCDP coding rules, for groups that consist of a faction of a country’s military forces. In addition to Giroldi, the group consisted of several mid-level officers of the Panama Defense Force that had returned from an UN-mission in Namibia just days before. The aim of the coup was to oust the de facto military dictator General Manuel Antonio Noriega that had held on to power since 1983. On 3 October 1989, the group managed to the capture the military headquarters in Panama City 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 which resulted in the death of scores of people.

General Noriega struck down hard on the mutinous soldiers and several of the leaders, including Giroldi, were tortured and executed within days of the foiled coup. Others were arrested or discharged from the armed forces, allowing Noriega and the government to get rid of adversaries and opponents. The Government of Panama accused the Government of the United States of having supported Giroldi’s military faction. The US had had significant military presence in the Panama in order to control the Panama Canal and had been asked to support the coup by Adela Bonilla de Giroldi, Major Giroldi’s wife. Even though the US had encouraged previous attempts to oust Noriega, the US government did not find Giroldi’s plan viable and did not offer any support to the defected officers and soldiers.