Manuel Noriega Case

The late 1980’s were a period of change, both in the United States and across the world. Van Halen had broken up causing cultural unrest amongst the common man, and poor economic progress in the 70’s paved the way for the first Republican president since Nixon (who didn’t leave the best of impressions during his tenure as president), and the U.S. was just as concerned as ever about the expansion of communism, with the Sandinistas in Honduras and the Castro family in Cuba inching communism ever closer to U.S. borders. Manuel Noriega was employed by the Richard Helms led CIA in 1970. He was rising quickly in the Panamanian political system and gaining more powerful by the minute. He was hired to be an informant in the battle to keep communism out of Central America and, even more importantly, maintain control over the Panama Canal. Noriega had gained command of the Panamanian National Guard, which he transformed into his own personal police force, the Panamanian Defense Force (PDF), imposing his will against the helpless Panamanian citizens. It was discovered that Noriega had been using his CIA money and the PDF to form an impressive drug cartel, and thusly, his relationship with the CIA was promptly terminated by then director (and future president) George H. W. Bush. With the Communist Sandinistas
controlled Panama Canal. The U.S decided to bulk up on their defenses of the canal, and 9000 soldiers joined the 12,000 already in Panama in preparation for the oncoming explosion. In the meantime, Noriega nullified an election, keeping him in power indefinitely, in lieu of winner Guillermo Endara. Tempers flared on December 16, 1989, when an off duty marine was shot and killed by PDF forces, The next day, President George H. W. Bush implemented Operation Just Cause, an invasion with the intent of deposing Manuel Noriega, who had gone a bridge too