1 - The Black Vault

OPERATION JUST CAUSE
Guard, Panamanian air force, Panamanian navy,
Canal Defense Force, local police force, Traffic Department,
Department of Investigation, and Immigration
Department. By 1987 the PDF had expanded
to nearly 15,000 personnel. To control the
PDF Noriega placed it within a network of his
most trusted and loyal followers. 4
By the 1984 presidential elections, it was apparent
that Noriega and the PDF were firmly in
control of the government. The PDF presidential
candidate, Nicolas Ardito Barletta, easily defeated
three-time president Arnulfo Arias in an
election fraught with blatant irregularities. Less
than a year later, Noriega had Barletta removed
from office, and he installed Vice President Eric
Arturo Delvalle as the new president of Panama.
To maintain control Noriega and the PDF became
even more repressive during the following
four years. Special elements within the PDF
were used to squash public opposition to Noriega’s
iron-fisted rule. Noriega also created local
militias, known as dignity battalions, to frighten
and harass political opposition. 5
Throughout 1987 allegations continued to arise
over the illegal activities of Noriega . Col Roberto
Diaz Herrera, a former PDF chief of staff who
Noriega forced out of the National Guard in 1984,
charged that Noriega was heavily involved in narcotics
trafficking and money laundering for
Columbian-based drug cartels. Herrera also claimed
that Noriega had rigged the 1984 presidential election
and that he had ordered the brutal murder of
an outspoken critic of the regime, Dr. Hugo Spada -
fora. In February 1988 two US federal grand juries
indicted Noriega on drug trafficking charges,
thus formally pitting the Reagan administration
against the Panamanian dictator. On 25 February
1988, under pressure from the US government,
President Delvalle attempted to fire Noriega as
commander of the PDF. Noriega reacted by removing
Delvalle from office, thus initiating a period of
anti-US demonstrations and increased harassment
of US military forces assigned to Panama.
Relationships continued to worsen between the
United States and Noriega throughout 1988, with
the United States putting increased economic
pressure on the government of Panama. 6
The next major confrontation between Noriega
and the United States resulted from the national
elections held on 7 May 1989. The Civil Democratic
Opposition Alliance of Guillermo Endara,
Ricardo Arias Calderon, and Guillermo Ford were
in the lead when Noriega abruptly stepped in and
annulled the election with the help of the PDF.
During the ensuing demonstrations, the PDF brutally
crushed the opposition. 7 Former US President
Jimmy Carter, in Panama to monitor the
elections, declared the Opposition Alliance victors
by a three-to-one margin and denounced the military
dictatorship of Noriega and his actions to take
the election by fraud. When the Opposition Alliance
candidates led a protest march through the
streets of Panama City, they were attacked by
thugs of the dignity battalions. Beaten and cowed
into submission, the opposition retreated from any
further direct confrontation with Noriega. 8 The
United States reacted by imposing additional economic
sanctions, a move that placed considerable
strain on Panama’s already depressed economy.
As 1989 passed Noriega’s position steadily
weakened due to international condemnation of
his actions and due to US economic sanctions. On
3 October 1989 a respected Panamanian officer,
Maj Moises Giroldi Vega, attempted to overthrow
Noriega. Giroldi was the chief of security at Noriega’s
headquarters, the La Comandancia, which
was located in downtown Panama City, and was
one of only a few who were allowed to be armed in
the presence of Noriega. On the morning of 3 October,
Giroldi and a small number of soldiers took
control of La Comandancia and captured Noriega.
Noriega refused to resign and leave the country, so
Giroldi contacted US officials to arrange a handover
of Noriega to US military forces stationed in
Panama. Noriega was the godfather to Giroldi’s
children, and he did not want Noriega to be taken
out of Panama for trial in the United States. While
Giroldi negotiated with the United States, dozens
of heavily armed Battalion 2000 soldiers loyal to
Noriega assaulted Giroldi’s positions and recaptured
the La Comandancia. 9
Giroldi was captured by the Battalion 2000 assault
force, and Noriega was subsequently released.
During the night of 3 October, Giroldi was
murdered after being tortured by several of Noriega’s
leading officers. In the following days, Noriega
had over 70 soldiers shot, with another 600
arrested and put in prison. The events of 3 October
had so shaken Noriega that he began moving from
place to place, never sleeping in the same place
twice. The 1988 US indictments made his departure
from Panama impossible, and his long-term
survival in the country was doubtful. 10
Tensions continued to increase between the
United States and Panama throughout the remainder
of October. On 3 November US marines
on Galeta Island exchanged fire with unidentified
attackers. Throughout November Noriega
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