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December 18, 2024
Remembering the U.S. Invasion of Panama, 35 Years Later, by Michael Fox
U.S. owes reparations to survivors of 1989 “just cause” invasion of Panama
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This is the second article Rights Action shares this week ( #1 here) remembering the December 20, 1989 U.S. “just cause” invasion of Panama and slaughter of perhaps thousands of civilians.
This article is an intro to Episode 13 of the Under The Shadows podcast series by Michael Fox, with NACLA and The Real News. Rights Action recommends the entire series.
Imperialism, violence and impunity - Connecting the dots
As the U.S.-led west continues to support and legitimize Israeli ethnic cleansing genocide in Palestine, and what looks to clearly be colonialist expansionist aggression in neighboring countries, it is never too late to keep on telling truth about and demanding justice and reparations for victims of previous U.S.-led, Western imperialist invasions and aggressions. |
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Remembering the U.S. Invasion of Panama, 35 Years Later
By Michael Fox, September 4, 2024
https://nacla.org/us-invasion-panama-1989
The 1989 invasion left deep wounds in Panama, including an untold number of people killed. Locals continue to demand justice.
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A U.S. armored personnel carrier stands guard in a destroyed laundromat in Panama City on the second day of the U.S. invasion of Panama, December 21, 1989. (U.S. Department of Defense / Public Domain)
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On December 20, 1989, the United States invaded Panama with tens of thousands of troops. It was the largest U.S. invasion since Vietnam. The first U.S. military action since the fall of the Berlin Wall one month before. The testing ground for the Iraq wars. The U.S. invading forces destroyed 20,000 homes and killed hundreds of innocent Panamanians, dumping bodies into mass graves.
And the United States government and the mainstream media ignored or whitewashed the violence. The story told to the people of the United States was that of a tremendous success. The liberation of the people of Panama. All in the name of democracy and the so-called war on drugs.
In this episode #13 of the Under The Shadows podcast series, host Michael Fox takes us to the working-class Panama City neighborhood of El Chorrillo, which received the brunt of the U.S. attack. He meets with Panamanians who have long fought for justice and visits a former U.S. military barracks that was the first home of the U.S. School of the Americas.
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Memorial to the victims in El Chorrillo, killed in the 1989 U.S. invasion of Panama. (Pedro Silva)
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"Never Forget, Never Forgive." A mural commemorates the U.S. invasion of Panama. (Pedro Silva)
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El Chorrillo today. (Pedro Silva)
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Under the Shadow is an investigative narrative podcast series that walks back in time, telling the story of the past by visiting momentous places in the present. In each episode, host Michael Fox takes us to a location where something historic happened—a landmark of revolutionary struggle or foreign intervention. Today, it might look like a random street corner, a church, a mall, a monument, or a museum. But every place he takes us was once the site of history-making events that shook countries, impacted lives, and left deep marks on the world.
Resources
El Chorrillo Neighborhood Tour
You can find out more about Efrain Guerrero’s work trying to protect the memory of El Chorrillo, plus his neighborhood tours, on his Instagram or TikTok. His organization is called Movimiento Identidad. Here’s the website to set up a tour.
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