TIMELINES: President George H.W. Bush orders what invasion to topple a dictator on Dec. 20, 1989?

President George H.W. Bush orders what invasion to topple a dictator on Dec. 20, 1989?
TIMELINES: President George H.W. Bush orders what invasion to topple a dictator on Dec. 20, 1989?
12/20/2011
Updated:
9/29/2015

Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011

THEN

Dec. 20, 1989, U.S. President George H.W. Bush orders the invasion of Panama to overthrow dictator Gen. Manuel Noriega. After working with the CIA in the 1970s and early 1980s to oppose the spread of communism in Central America and the rise of the Marxist Sandinistas in Panama, Noriega’s relationship with the U.S. government quickly deteriorates. He is accused of being a double agent for the Sandinistas and Cuban intelligence, and is indicted in the United States for drug trafficking, racketeering, and drug-money laundering. Concerned about losing control over the strategic Panama Canal Zone, President Bush orders the invasion. U.S. forces quickly gain control as Noriega seeks refuge in the Vatican Embassy in Panama City. Noriega surrenders two weeks later and is flown to the United States where he is tried and convicted for drug trafficking. Noriega serves 20 years in prison before being extradited to France to face money-laundering charges. The invasion involving 27,000 U.S. troops cost 23 American lives and between 500 and 4,000 Panamanians. 

NOW

Last week, Manuel Noriega, now 77, was extradited from France to his home country of Panama to serve a sentence for crimes committed during his rule. Noriega was convicted in absentia by a Panamanian court for the killings of political opponent Hugo Spadafora, and another person. Noriega returned to his country frail and in bad health after suffering from prostate cancer and a stroke. While Noriega’s return to Panama after 22 years was called by many a sense of closure, the country has also moved on and grown stronger politically and economically since his six-year dictatorship. Noriega will serve his sentence in a medium-security facility in Gamboa, Panama.