history of Panama

History

...aggressively hostile Sandinista regime in Nicaragua and the leftist rebellion in El Salvador (backed, the White House said, by Nicaragua, Cuba, and the Soviet Union) but also a growing rift with the Panamanian dictator General Manuel Noriega. For decades Noriega had collaborated with U.S. intelligence agencies, serving as an informant on events in Cuba and a supporter of the Contras in Central...

...policy. Mass demonstrations were staged for the benefit of television and featured banners in English, which had become the most important international language. When the United States invaded Panama in 1989, the Soviet Union protested on the American-owned television company Cable News Network, which was watched by most foreign ministries and world leaders.

...the key policies of the Reagan administration, especially by retaining cordial relations with the Soviet Union and its successor states. In December 1989 Bush ordered U.S. troops to seize control of Panama and arrest its de facto ruler, General Manuel Noriega, who faced drug trafficking and racketeering charges in the United States.

...Panama Canal Treaty. In 1989 Noriega canceled the presidential elections and attempted to rule through a puppet government. After a military coup against Noriega failed, the United States invaded Panama. He sought and was given refuge in the Vatican nunciature (embassy) in Panama City, where he remained for 10 days while a U.S. Army psychological warfare team blasted rock music at the...

The Chocó Indians of the tropical forests of Darién region and nearby Colombia survived the Spanish intrusion because they had nothing of value to the Europeans and were bypassed. In turn, the Chocó were not especially warlike and avoided the dangers of contact.

(Nov. 18, 1903), agreement between the United States and Panama granting exclusive canal rights to the United States across the Isthmus of Panama in exchange for financial reimbursement and guarantees of protection to the newly established republic. The United States had offered similar terms to Colombia, which then controlled Panama, in the Hay–Herrán Treaty (Jan. 22, 1903), but...

From its opening in 1914 until 1979, the Panama Canal was controlled solely by the United States, which built it. In 1979, however, control of the canal passed to the Panama Canal Commission, a joint agency of the United States and the Republic of Panama, and complete control passed to Panama at noon on December 31, 1999. Administration of the canal is the responsibility of the Panama Canal...

In Panama the river and mule trail across the isthmus was the principal economic resource for the commercial and bureaucratic elite that developed there. As the link between Europe and the rich mines of Peru, Panama was of strategic importance and received considerable military protection against attacks from marauding buccaneers such as the Welshman Henry Morgan, whose destruction of Panama...

...difficulties and questions of sovereignty. A treaty between Britain and the United States recognized the exclusive U.S. right to construct, regulate, and manage a canal across the isthmus; but Panama was Colombian territory, and the Colombia Senate refused ratification of a treaty with the United States. After a revolt, a treaty was signed with independent Panama that granted the United...

...the world was naive. Carter’s idealism notwithstanding, his major achievements were on the more pragmatic level of patient diplomacy. In 1977 he obtained two treaties between the United States and Panama that gave the latter control over the Panama Canal at the end of 1999 and guaranteed the neutrality of that waterway thereafter. In 1978 Carter brought together Egyptian President Anwar...

...of his dedication to the promotion of human rights. During his first year in office Carter sought to counter the traditional notion of “Yankee imperialism” by meeting the demands of the Panamanian leader, General Omar Torrijos Herrera, for a transfer of sovereignty over the Panama Canal. The U.S. Senate ratified the treaty (which called for a staged transfer, to be completed in...

...with the People’s Republic of China, on the other hand, improved, and full diplomatic recognition of the Communist government took effect on January 1, 1979. In September 1977 the United States and Panama signed two treaties giving control of the Panama Canal to Panama in the year 2000 and providing for the neutrality of the waterway.

The devastating civil war was followed by the loss of Panama. The Colombian Congress refused an offer from the United States to build a canal across the isthmus, and in 1903 the Panamanians revolted against the government in Bogotá. They negotiated a treaty with the United States that created a Canal Zone 10 miles (16 km) wide under U.S. sovereignty in exchange for an agreement by the...

...Mexico and surrounding regions and the other from Hispaniola to the Isthmus of Panama region and on to Peru and associated areas. The Peruvian thrust started first, in Tierra Firme (the area of Panama and present northwestern Colombia) in the years 1509–13. The results were appreciable, but the Panamanian occupation was thrown somewhat in the shadow for a time by the spectacular...

From the outset of his presidency, however, Bush demonstrated far more interest in foreign than domestic policy. In December 1989, he ordered a military invasion of Panama in order to topple that country’s leader, General Manuel Antonio Noriega, who—though at one time of service to the U.S. government—had become notorious for his brutality and his involvement in the drug trade. The...

Costa Rica’s boundary with Panama (originally with Colombia, before Panamanian independence) was also in dispute. Arbitration awards by France and the United States in 1900 and 1914, respectively, had been generally favourable to Costa Rica but were rejected by Panama. In 1921 Costa Rica attempted forcible occupation of this area (on the Pacific coast) but was diverted by the intervention of...