SUMMARY
On 3 October 1989, Major Moisés Giroldi of the Panama Defense Force attempted to topple Panamas de facto ruler, Supreme Commander Manuel Antonio 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.
IN DEPTH
Background to the crisis in Panama and the role of the U.S.
The former Spanish colony Panama gained its independence in 1903 after having been integrated into Colombia since 1821. Later the same year, the new country agreed to let the United States build a canal across the country to link the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. The canal, which was completed in 1914, played a significant strategic role for the United States. In the 1970s however, the importance of the canal diminished as the aviation industry developed and at the same time, the nationalist ideas grew stronger in Panama as more and more people resented the U.S. presence in the country. In 1977 two treaties were signed and the U.S. promised to cede the control over the canal to Panama by the year of 2000. On 31 December 1999, control over the canal was officially transferred to Panama.
Since the 1960s the military had de facto ruled Panama, first through Brigadier General Omar Torrijos, who functioned as the countrys dictator from 1968 to 1983, and from 1983 to 1989 through Manuel Antonio Noriega. During the 1980s, tension increased between Panama and USA and in 1985, the National Security Adviser to President Reagan told Noriega that the U.S. was concerned over his monopoly of power and his involvement in the drug trade in Colombia. In 1987, Noriega was accused of murdering a political opponent and of electoral fraud. Anti-Noriega demonstrations followed and when the police force attacked the protesters, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution calling for Noriega to step down. Noriegas supporters answered with an attack on the U.S. embassy, which resulted in the withdrawal of economic and military aid from the U.S. to Panama. To compensate for the loss of American aid, Panama instead turned to Cuba, Nicaragua and Libya for military support.
In 1988, the U.S. started to prepare a contingency plan intended to protect U.S. citizens and property, to keep the canal open, and to support any regime that might replace Noriega. One of the strategies was to extensively increase the presence of U.S. troops in Panama, in order to either intimidate military leaders under Noriega and cause them to overthrow him, or to build a force strong enough to invade Panama and remove Noriega from power. A coup attempt took place on 16 March 1988 when a faction of the PDF (Panama Defense Force), attacked the military headquarters in Panama City. The failed coup resulted in a crackdown on political opposition and an increase in anti-U.S. harassment.
On 7 May 1989, presidential elections were held in Panama and the opposition leader Guillermo Endara defeated Noriegas presidential candidate by a three to one margin. On 10 May 1989, Noriega annulled the election results and sanctioned violence against the opposition. The U.S. reaction was to strengthen its forces in Panama and to change its tactics from trying to convince local forces to overthrow the regime, to instead planning an operation to oust Noriega with military power. (For more information on the U.S. invasion see interstate conflict Panama – USA)
1989: A failed coup attempt by Moisés Giroldi
Major Moisés Giroldi was one of the military leaders that helped Supreme Commander Noriega suppress the coup attempt in 1988. On 1 October 1989, he informed the U.S. that he was planning his own coup the following day. He intended to take over the Panama Defense Force (PDF) headquarter, unite anti-Noriega units within the PDF and force Noriega to resign. He requested assistance from U.S. forces to hinder pro-Noriega reinforcements to get to the headquarters and to provide sanctuary for him and his family. The U.S. agreed to offer asylum to the families of the plotters, but U.S. Commander in Chief, Colin Powell, strongly opposed employing U.S. combat forces to assist the coup plotters. When it became clear that Noriega would not visit the headquarters on 2 October, the coup was postponed to the following day.
On 3 October 1989, the coup was initiated. The Military faction under Moisés Giroldi captured the military headquarters and succeeded in making Noriega and his general staff retire from their posts for a few hours. After six hours of heavy fighting, Noriega persuaded Giroldi to surrender and troops loyal to Noriega regained control of the installation. Giroldi and his men were killed or arrested after being tortured and interrogated.
After the coup, the U.S. was accused of having assisted the rebels and on 15 December 1989, the Panamanian Parliament declared that there was a state of war between Panama and the US. On 20 December 1989, U.S. forces invaded Panama and overthrew Noriega. (For more information on the U.S. invasion see interstate conflict Panama – USA)
