The 19th Century
| 1821 — Panama becomes dependent of Spain, and joins the confederacy of Gran Colombia |
| 1830 — Mexico abolishes slavery– 36 years before the US |
| 1846 — Panama signs a treaty with the US that allowed it to build a railway across the isthmus |
| 1878 — France is granted the right to build a canal through Panama, but fails due to bankruptcy and the tropical diseases, malaria and yellow fever claiming the lives of over 22,000 workers |
The 20th Century
| 1903 — Panama becomes fully independent from Colombia and the US buys the right to build and control the Panama Canal |
| 1914 — The Panama Canal is completed |
| 1939 — Panama is no longer a US protectorate |
| 1968 — General Omar Torrijos Herrera overthrows the elected president and imposes a dictatorship |
| 1983 — Manuel Noriega becomes head of National Guard and greatly increases its power over Panama’s political and economic systems |
| 1988 — US charged Noriega with drug smuggling |
| 1989 — US invades Panama, ousts Noriega and Replaces him with Guillermo Endara |
| 1992 — US courts find Noriega guilty of drug offenses and sentenced him to 40 years of imprisonment in the US |
| 1999— Mireya Moscoso becomes Panama’s first female president and Panama takes full control of the Panama Canal |
The 21st Century
| 2002 — Moscoso sets up a commission to investigate corruption following street protests |
| 2004 — Martin Torrijos, son of former dictator Omar Torrijos, wins presidential election |
| 2007 — Work to widen the Panama Canal begins |
| 2009 — Ricardo Martinelli wins presidential election |
| 2011 — US congress approved the long-stalled free trade agreement with Panama |
| 2016 — Panama begins the US$17 billion canal expansion to meet the growing needs of international shipping |
The Invasion of Panama
Sources
- On December 20, 1989, the United States began “Operation Just Cause,” a large-scale invasion of Panama in order to remove its leader, General Manuel Noriega, from power.
- Noriega was also a dictator who made Panama a haven for drug trafficking
- Nearly 26,000 US combat troops were deployed, attacking two dozen targets throughout the country, using a wide spectrum of tactical operations including Military Operations on Urbanized Terrain (MOUT), Air-Assault, Airborne, and Special Forces.
- The U.S. invasion of Panama cost the lives of only 23 U.S. soldiers and three U.S. civilians.
- There is some debate over the actual death toll of Panamanians, but it is estimated that Some 150 Panamanian Defense Forces soldiers were killed along with an estimated 500-700 Panamanian civilians
- The invasion caused unthinkable devastation to Panama
The Book of Unknown Americans Homepage
Libby Masi, 2019