US Military Build-Up in Caribbean Revives Past Memories, but Key Differences Remain

On 16 December 1989, US Marine Lt Robert Paz was in the back of a Chevrolet Impala making his way to the Marriott Hotel in Panama City for dinner, just as US tensions with the Panamanian strongman were reaching boiling point.

When the car, which was carrying four US military personnel stationed in the country, reached a checkpoint of the Panamanian Defence Forces, six soldiers surrounded the vehicle.

Following an altercation, the Panamanians opened fire as it drove away, killing Paz. His death set in motion the US invasion of Panama four days later, on 20 December.

It remains the last major US incursion on foreign soil in the Americas.

By the end of what Washington dubbed "Operation Just Cause", around 30,000 US troops had been mobilised, and Noriega had been forced from power and whisked to Miami to face trial on drug-smuggling charges.

The UN estimates around 500 Panamanian civilians were killed in the invasion. The US claims it was far fewer, while its critics say it was many more.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g92dj8l3eo