PANAMA:

Operation Just Cause

Situation that Precipitated Just Cause

Unlike other cases included in this comparative study, the intervention in Panama was not a peacekeeping operation. It was a unilateral U.S. intervention in a country where U.S. presence and influence were overwhelming and cultural, social, and economic ties to the United States were inextricable. The lessons that emerged from this operation (as well as from the Somalia action) were to significantly influence the planning of the operation in Haiti.

Operation Just Cause was the culmination of a 2?-year effort to remove General Manual Noriega, Commander of the Panama Defense Force (PDF) and de-facto ruler, from power after his indictment in the United States on drug-trafficking charges. U.S. efforts to negotiate Noriega out of power had failed by May 1988. Ongoing economic sanctions only hurt the country and were difficult to enforce (in view of the large U.S. presence). As the crisis progressed, the U.S. military presence steadily increased, as did efforts to pressure the PDF through no-notice exercises and testing of check points. Although a political opposition was slowly coalescing, two coup attempts by the PDF and massive public demonstrations failed to unseat Noriega.

Authors’ note: This case study is based upon personal experiences of the authors, interviews with numerous other participants, from both the Washington level and the field, as well as from written accounts. Opinions and accounts vary, a classic case of “where you stand depends upon where you sit.”

Events precipitating the U.S. intervention in 1989 included:

Capacity for Self-Governance

At the time of the intervention, Panama was a self-governing country with functioning bureaucracy, police, judicial, and prison systems. Although it had the trappings of a constitutional democracy until the May 1989 election results were nullified, it was a de facto dictatorship under the control of General Noriega and his PDF. All semblance of democracy disappeared after Noreiga nullified the results of the elections and appointed a President. Despite various economic, political, and social disruptions, including U.S. economic sanctions, Panamanian government institutions continued to function.

Strength of Armed Opposition Groups. The PDF maintained close control throughout the country. The large-scale public opposition or “civil crusade” mounted many demonstrations in Panama City but had no armed capability (see discussion of PDF capabilities for insurgency below).

Condition of Economy and Infrastructure. To keep his government afloat, Noriega exacerbated Panama’s already serious financial problems and plunged the country deeper into debt. At the time of the invasion, total government debt was approximately $5 billion; the unemployment rate was about 25 percent; the nation had lost over 2 years of foreign and domestic investment; the international banking sector had suffered severe damage; the number of merchant vessels registered in Panama had declined; and hundreds of businesses had been forced into bankruptcy. Systematic looting of the economy by Noriega and his cronies exacerbated the situation. By 1989, the central government finances had dropped almost by half over the previous 2 years to $598 million.²

Extent of Social Disruption. Because of devastation to Panama’s economy and U.S. attempts to split the Panamanian public and PDF from Noriega, long-existing class and racial divisions were exacerbated. Traditional norms of political behavior, which had made Panama a relatively nonviolent society, were attenuated. This was manifested in Noriega’s creation of “dignity battalions” and the brutality they inflicted. The prolonged crisis created an atmosphere of fear, suspicion, and hatred that could require many years to repair.³

Status of Domestic and Public Security Apparatus

PDF Capabilities. Panama’s institutions were either tools of the Noriega dictatorship, or they were neglected and dysfunctional. In the decades prior to the U.S. invasion of December 1989, the Panamanian National Guard and its successor, the PDF, had become the main vehicle for power and repression in Panama. The PDF was an amalgamation of the National Guard, the Air Force, the Naval Force, the Canal Defense Force, the Police Force, the Traffic Department, the Department of Investigation, and the Immigration Department.⁴ In addition to having the capability to control the populace, the PDF was also able to conduct sabotage and stand-off attacks against the Canal and U.S. military installations (such as Quarry Heights, Fort Clayton, Howard Air Force Base, Albrook Air Force Base, and the U.S. Naval Station at Rodman). Confronted by a more powerful intervention force, the PDF planned to retreat into the mountains and jungles of the interior and conduct prolonged guerrilla warfare. At the time of the U.S. intervention, the PDF contained 19 companies and six platoons, numbering some 8,000 men, at least 3,500 of whom were well trained and equipped for combat. Among the major items in their inventory were 29 armored personnel carriers, 12 patrol craft, and 28 light transport aircraft.⁵

During 1988 and 1989, after the termination of security assistance and the imposition of sanctions by the United States, Noriega turned to Cuba, Nicaragua, and Libya for economic and military assistance. Cuba and Nicaragua funneled Communist-bloc weapons and instructors to Noriega and helped develop civilian defense committees (i.e., “Dignity Battalions”) for intelligence collection and population control. Libya contributed $20 million in 1989 in return for permission to use Panama as a base to coordinate terrorist and insurgent groups activities throughout Latin America.⁶

Although the PDF was occupied heavily with maintaining civil order and responding to U.S. military efforts to throw it off balance, it continued to function as a police force. By December 1989 the PDF had been on high alert for an extended period. Panama was “not a country with an army, but an army with a country.”⁷

The PDF as an Institution. The PDF was clearly understood to be corrupt. Many of its officers and enlisted personnel were involved in outside business activities, legal and illegal, including drug trafficking. Getting a “turn at the trough” was a method of reward and control. (The PDF itself was a “fee for service” organization. Low pay was supplemented by these rewards.) Along with a reputation for general ruthlessness, the PDF was regarded as an organization that could “get things done, when appropriately motivated,” whereas the relatively inefficient civilian bureaucracy could not. This gave Noriega a certain leverage vis-a-vis the U.S. military. The PDF was viewed by many in the lower strata of society as the organization that looked after their welfare and could provide meaningful upward social mobility. Additionally, the business community in general worked accommodations with it, and some prominent business leaders had relatives who became PDF officers.⁸

Condition of the Judicial and Prison Systems. The legal, judicial, and penal systems during the Noriega regime were badly corrupted. Prisoners might languish in jail for months and sometimes literally 3, 4, or 5 years without even a hearing. Jails were crowded, unsanitary, and violent. Any amenities had to be provided by the prisoner’s family or friends. The legal system dispensed political control rather than justice. The impact upon the individual depended entirely on the nature of the relationship with Noriega and the PDF.⁹

Planning and Resources

The “Noriega crisis” extended from June 1987, when Noriega was implicated in the murder of prominent Panamanian politician Hugo Spadafora,¹⁰ until the implementation of Just Cause in December 1989 and spanned portions of two U.S. administrations. Several key players changed with the advent of the Bush administration, as did the Chairmanship of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in September 1989. Many players were also preoccupied by their involvement in the Central American conflicts and the Iran-Contra investigations, and there were different views and objectives being pursued by different agencies. Consequently, from the perspective of those in the field, the planning process had the appearance of being driven by political circumstances “inside the beltway” rather than a clear set of objectives.

Although there was early agreement (summer 1987) that Noriega had to go, there was considerable disagreement about how to depose him. Any lingering doubt about Noriega staying in power was dispelled in February 1988 when he was indicted by the U.S. Justice Department on drug trafficking charges. Any hope that the opposition-instigated “civil crusade” could get rid of Noriega was dispelled on February 25 when President Eric Arturo Delvalle attempted to publicly fire Noriega. In response, Noriega named Solis Palma as Delvalle’s successor. The “civil crusade” lacked strong U.S. support and did nothing in response to these events. The U.S. Government continued to recognize Delvalle as the President of Panama and granted him safe haven in the United States, along with a steady flow of political refugees.

In March 1988, a coup attempt gave hope that the PDF could jettison Noriega while preserving itself as an institution. Throughout the crisis there were varying degrees of pressure from some quarters for the United States to take military action. This was resisted by the U.S. Department of Defense. Security assistance was cut off and economic sanctions imposed. A variety of other schemes for ousting Noriega were also examined by the U.S. interagency process. Discussions with exile groups in 1988 and 1989, designed to give the opposition encouragement, probably detracted from a focused U.S. policy, since this raised unrealistic expectations that Noriega could be removed without direct U.S. intervention. In addition, the U.S. Presidential election campaign was at least partly responsible for the apparent void in policy action during the summer and fall 1988.

During 1987-88, the Reagan administration’s Panama policy was also hampered by persistent press leaks. The Bush administration handled this problem after January 1989 by placing interagency access to Panama policy matters on a highly restricted basis. While options continued to be examined and economic sanctions remained in place, one objective remained constant: to split Noriega from the PDF. The administration continued to hope that he could be removed without direct U.S. action. This effort intensified significantly in 1989. The U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) forces began aggressively exercising treaty rights of free passage through Panama by such actions as ignoring road blocks, conducting short-notice “Category Three” exercises and keeping maximum pressure on the PDF, while at the same time complying with the Panama Canal Treaties in order to maintain the legal high ground. U.S. security forces in Panama were steadily increased, the number of personnel living off base was reduced, and dependents were encouraged to return to the United States.

Contingency planning for military intervention began with a Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Planning Order dated February 28, 1988. Known initially as Elaborate Maze, it included four major components which could be implemented concurrently or in sequence:

In response to the planning order during the first half of 1988, General Fred F. Woerner, Jr., U.S. Commander-in-Chief, Southern Command (USCINCSO) forwarded his plan (code named Fissures) to the Joint Chiefs. After receiving no response, Woerner updated Fissures on his own initiative, calling it Fissures II. The update called for coordinated interagency political-military efforts to split Noriega from the PDF rank and file and the civilian leadership of the regime, resulting in an internal resolution of the Noriega problem. At the time Woerner forwarded Fissures II, he stated it was an integrated, holistic plan that could not be executed piecemeal.

General Woerner was subsequently instructed to execute the plan in individual pieces.¹² Accordingly, Elaborate Maze/Fissures was changed to a family of plans later called Prayerbook. Blue Spoon became the plan for combat operations, and Krystal Ball, completed in August 1988, became the plan to provide public security and to restore civilian government in the event combat operations became necessary. Woerner had been told by the President that he did not want to intervene in Panama directly. Combat and postcombat planning was thus considered more an exercise, directed by prudence rather than an immediate requirement. Thus Krystal Ball was never discussed with the State Department. The individual plans comprising Prayerbook were subsequently put “back on the shelf.”¹³

On March 3, 1989, Prayerbook came off the shelf. The incident that precipitated this action was the so-called “school bus crisis.” On that date, the PDF seized 21 U.S. school buses with children of U.S. military and civilian personnel aboard. U.S. Military Police reacted strongly and the incident was defused within a few hours. However, the incident had a profound effect on the resident U.S. community. A “siege mentality” set in, and calls and letters flooded into U.S. congressional offices asking that something be done to get rid of the oppressive, and now threatening, Noriega regime.¹⁴ Krystal Ball, the civil-military operations part of Prayerbook, was renamed Blind Logic and sent forward to JCS with no recommendations for change.¹⁵

On May 10, 1989, Blue Spoon, the plan for combat operations, became a more serious proposition. The incident that precipitated this was the specter of vice-presidential candidate Ford being brutally beaten by Noriega hoodlums on live TV after the Panamanian elections of May 7. The outcome had gone against Noriega, and he had the results nullified. The image of Ford being beaten and bloodied caused revulsion against Noriega not only in Panama but throughout the world.¹⁶

As part of Blue Spoon, a Joint Task Force (JTF) under the XVIII Airborne Corps was established. SOUTHCOM planners assumed that XVIII Airborne Corps would operate in parallel with them and incorporate Blind Logic, the civil affairs/public security plan, into their operations planning. However, the XVIII Airborne Corps JTF did not consider that there were any taskings for them in Blind Logic and did not perceive Blind Logic as an approved plan.¹⁷ In fact, Blind Logic had never been approved by the Joint Chiefs.

The Mission

Execution of Just Cause

By the time General Powell assumed Chairmanship of the JCS and General Maxwell Thurman assumed command of SOUTHCOM at the end of September 1989, a great deal of planning had already been done. On the basis of this planning, President Bush set four objectives for Just Cause on the eve of the invasion:

o Restore Panamanian democracy.¹⁸

The maintenance of public security was a secondary consideration for the overall military operation. To accomplish the President’s objectives, however, it would need to be an integral part of restoring democracy. In fact, maintaining public security became a key concern much earlier than anticipated as a result of widespread looting shortly after the intervention took place.

A sense of urgency came about on October 3, 1989. A coup attempt instigated by PDF Major Moises Giroldi failed, and Giroldi was summarily executed. Ironically, the strategy of trying to separate Noriega from the PDF had worked, but the tactic failed. The United States did not support the coup attempt, and Noriega arrested opposition elements within the PDF. It then became obvious that U.S. military intervention would be required, probably in response to some “threshold event,” and revising Blue Spoon began in earnest under General Thurman. This took place on two levels—at SOUTHCOM and at the Joint Task Force (JTF)-South component of the XVIII Airborne Corps.¹⁹ The new version of Blue Spoon was published at the end of October 1989. Important changes included streamlining command and control by putting all executing elements under JTF-South; shifting combat focus from the center of Panama City to outlying areas which left the U.S. troop presence in the city at a minimum; ignoring the possibility of a public security vacuum and; and placing responsibility for restoration of Panamanian Government functions on U.S. Army South (USARSO) (Major General Cisneros). This latter provision, however, was not properly coordinated.²⁰

Leading up to Just Cause, the SOUTHCOM J-5, BG Benard Gann, repeatedly tried to present Blind Logic to General Thurman; however Thurman’s total focus was on planning for hostilities, not posthostilities.²¹

On December 16, 1989, Lt. Paz was killed, and on 17 December President Bush gave the order to execute Blue Spoon as Operation Just Cause. On the evening of December 19, President Endara and his two vice presidents were sworn into office, and early on December 20, U.S. combat operations against the PDF were in full swing.

Although military police were deployed with the 82^nd Airborne Division at the outset, planners for Blue Spoon/Just Cause had failed to foresee the collapse of the PDF and the resultant need for public security operations.²² The consequence was seen in looting that took place mostly in Panama City and Colon²³ where the destruction of the PDF left no local police force.²⁴ The intervention did leave the interior of the country largely unscathed, and the PDF continued to operate there and maintain law and order.²⁵ In the cities, rules of engagement in force for U.S. military personnel were adequate to avoid a possible bloodbath, but U.S. forces would not shoot looters.

Within the first 2 days of combat operations, looting broke out in the center of Panama City and continued for the next three to four days.²⁶ As a result of the urgent need to restore order and resume basic government services, Blind Logic, the civil-military operations plan, underwent a crash update, was approved by General Thurman and sent to JCS for approval as Operation Promote Liberty.²⁷

On December 20, Thurman directed BG Gann to move his entire organization to the Panamanian Legislative Assembly building and assist the new Endara government (which consisted of Endara and his two Vice Presidents). The next day Promote Liberty was approved by the JCS, and Gann became COMCMOTF (Commander, Civil-Military Operations Task Force) and began to execute the plan for restoration of civil government and public security to Panama. As COMCMOTF, Gann was placed by Thurman under the operational control of the U.S. Charge d’Affairs, John Bushnell.²⁸ General Thurman also ordered that COMCMOTF personnel be combined with the active duty 96^th Civil Affairs (CA) Battalion, expected to arrive on December 22, and 300 reservists who would follow over the next 3 weeks.²⁹ Because of a misunderstanding of the role that CA personnel were to play, there was initially some resistance within the interagency to this deployment. Some believed that CA personnel would be viewed as “political commissars” directing the Government of Panama instead of facilitating the restoration of essential services.³⁰

The looting and chaos were ended when sufficient U.S. infantry and MP forces were brought into the situation to discharge the public security function without excessive use of force. From December 20-25, COMCMOTF worked nonstop to establish security, restore services, assist in the organization of the new government, and coordinate activities of U.S. Government and nongovernment agencies.

Implementation of Promote Liberty

The first phase of Promote Liberty concentrated on public safety, health, and population control measures. Later, the U.S. country team and the new Panamanian Government took responsibility for civil control, rebuilding commerce, winning the support of the people for reforms, and restructuring the PDF into separate police, customs, and defense organizations.³¹

Restoration of civil government and public order did not get off to a good start. The PDF had been destroyed, and there was no Panamanian entity to replace it. Neither Washington nor JTF-South had contemplated the disappearance of the PDF, counting instead upon a coup by the PDF. Nor was the public chaos problem planned for; no military consultations or coordination had taken place with appropriate U.S. civilian agencies in this regard.³² Furthermore, Blind Logic planners did not address what kind of security force would replace the PDF, since it was predicated upon the assumption of a PDF coup ousting Noriega.³³ In consultation with U.S. authorities, the Government of Panama (GOP) had determined that a standing army was unnecessary. Lacking other options, the GOP decided to replace it with a police force made up of members of the defunct PDF, after screening out undesirables.³⁴

There were several factors that contributed to this lack of focus on civil affairs. Among these were disagreement between the Operations (J-3) and Policy (J-5) SOUTHCOM; lack of an ambassador on scene (Ambassador Dean Hinton arrived a couple of weeks later); lack of interagency focus on this issue; and no political adviser on station at SOUTHCOM. Nevertheless, General Thurman took full responsibility for this oversight and in subsequent years cited it as the greatest mistake in his military career.³⁵

As of December 22, four Brigade Task Forces from the 82^nd Airborne had been assigned to clear Panama City of hostiles (i.e., Dignity Battalions), enforce a curfew, stop chaos and looting, and assume temporary law enforcement functions. The 82^nd Airborne and 193^rd Infantry Brigade elements in Panama City were reinforced by additional MP companies. As the former cleared designated zones, the MPs would take over, man the old PDF posts, and undertake active patrols. The presence of the MPs and withdrawal of combat forces had a calming effect upon the population, law and order was restored, and relatively normal activity resumed.³⁶

It was not until mid-January 1990 that General Thurman brought command and control of all SOUTHCOM and JTF-SOUTH organizations involved with the civil-military operation under the overall control of Military Support Group—Panama (MSG). At this point the public security mission was being performed on a more routine basis.³⁷

To get the United States out of an apparent “occupation” role, three conditions had to be met. First, the Panamanian Government had to place enough police on the streets to undertake joint patrols with U.S. forces. This required a quick, ad hoc reconstitution of the old PDF into a new Panamanian National Police (PNP). Second, some sort of court/magistrate/judicial system had to be re-established (e.g., the old night-court system). Finally, the penal system had to be reopened. This required a massive reconstruction of old jails and prisons after the looting and destruction in the aftermath of Just Cause. This process took several weeks.³⁸

Once the decision had been made by General Thurman to implement Promote Liberty, Major General Marc Cisneros, Commander ARSO, set up a U.S. Force Liaison Group (USFLG) to advise, train, and equip the new police.³⁹ A Military Support Group (MSG) became operational on January 17, 1990 and was given the mission of police training. Initially this was conducted by the 18^th Airborne Corps’ 16^th Military Police Brigade.⁴⁰ A Judicial Liaison Group (JLG) was also established to advise/assist the Panamanians. This was an ad hoc military response on the ground to an unanticipated situation.

The initiatives instigated by MG Cisneros using ARSO resources got the PNP on the streets, the night-court system operating, and the jails and prisons functioning.⁴¹ Situations not foreseen in Blind Logic or not provided for in guidance from Washington were dealt with ad hoc.⁴² The establishment of the MSG was the logical extension of Blind Logic and the ad hoc effort to institutionalize civil-military operations in Panama prior to the official end of hostilities on January 31, 1990.

Problems arose for the MSG, however, with congressional passage of the “Urgent Assistance Act for Panama of 1990” on February 14. In addition to providing a much needed $43.7M in emergency assistance, it reaffirmed the prohibition on police training by the U.S. military contained in Section 660 of the Foreign Assistance Act. The Act did, however, permit use of residual security assistance funds to equip the police force. Negotiations with Congress during January and early February for this legislation were unsuccessful in producing a change in the Section 660 prohibition on police training, in part because the Administration did not foresee the importance of such a change, and in part because the need was not apparent to Congress. However, they did provide authority and limited funding for the Justice Department International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) to train Panamanian police. In addressing the immediate security problem, however, DOD found itself conducting at least what appeared to be police training in violation of the law and took immediate steps to remedy the situation.

Coordination and Cooperation

From a bureaucratic standpoint it became clear to the Department of Defense (DOD) that responsibility for police training should rest with ICITAP, and the general tone of the interagency discussions on policing training reflected “over to you ICITAP.” Although ICITAP representatives accepted this responsibility, it was a task for which they had no experience and little capability. ICITAP would eventually do the job, but time was required to respond effectively. One ICITAP official described the task as comparable to standing up a civilian police force in Japan after World War II.⁴³ This delay presented military forces with several problems.

First, ICITAP, although given the mission to train the PNP and Judicial Technical Police, had no programs or personnel for this purpose, and, therefore, was not immediately able to assemble an adequate training program. During this void, U.S. military personnel, under control of the MSG, carried out patrols and in the process “advised” and acted as “monitors” of training and served as “examples” for the PNP.⁴⁴ They also participated in joint patrols, thereby providing the population “with a sense of security.”⁴⁵ Defense and State Department officials were concerned lest these activities be perceived to be illegal. In coordination with SOUTHCOM, the Embassy provided a message which described the function of the military as liaison and coordination, not police training. These “rules of engagement” were critical in order to pass the “legal litmus test.”⁴⁶

Second, Thurman recognized that a fully coordinated strategy of reinforcing programs would be required if the desired end-state was to be achieved. This had not been accomplished in the Prayerbook planning or in the aftermath of Just Cause and the creation of the MSG. The MSG would only be one part of a larger program. Absent an approved, cohesive plan emerging from interagency deliberations in Washington, General Thurman engaged a contracting firm to produce an integrated, holistic strategy. Because of illness after June 1990, however, the general was unable to press for and secure approval of his plan.⁴⁷

Third, U.S. proposals had to be approved by the Panamanian Government. This took time. Unity of effort was eventually achieved as a result of ad hoc development of personal relationships between the MSG and General Thurman, Ambassador Hinton, President Endara, and Vice-Presidents Calderon and Ford.⁴⁸ Even with good coordination, the Panamanian Government had its own strong views on how the post-Noriega internal security apparatus ought to be strengthened and did not agree with everything the United States wanted.

The Establishment of a New Panamanian Police Force

After the inauguration of President Endara and his two Vice Presidents as the legal government on December 19, 1989, the public security function formally became their responsibility. Yet, the new government had neither a police force nor the resources to create one. U.S. policy favored withdrawal of U.S. military presence as rapidly as possible, particularly to the extent that it was performing highly visible civilian police functions.

It was essential to get Panamanian police visibly on the streets. One option was to cashier all previous members of the PDF and recruit an entirely new force. This would have taken years to implement properly, and the United States would have been required to maintain the role of an “occupying power” to ensure public order in the interim. This option also risked leaving 14,000 trained, disenfranchised, and disgruntled former military and police without jobs, inviting the development of an organized and violent opposition.⁴⁹

The second alternative was to organize a police force from among former members of the PDF. This option had the advantage of enabling the new Panamanian Government to restore order rapidly while maintaining a measure of Panamanian, rather than U.S., control. Nonetheless, the loyalty of these individuals would be in question, and this approach would be politically unpopular because of general public fear and distrust of the PDF.⁵⁰

The third option was a compromise. The Panamanian Government and its U.S. mentors would employ PDF members as the core of a new police force, the Fuerza Publica de Panama (FPP). This approach was ultimately selected owing to the urgency of the situation.

To implement its decision, the government imposed several conditions:

The new Panamanian Government, with assistance from U.S. civilian and military officials familiar with the PDF, screened former personnel and relieved those known to have been corrupt or abusive of human rights. This process eventually eliminated all colonels, 83 percent of lieutenant colonels, 39 percent of majors, 31 percent of captains, 19 percent of lieutenants, and many of the lower ranks.⁵² The remainder were incorporated into the new police forces. Personnel of the old Departamento Nacional de Investigaciones (DENI) formed the new Policia Tecnica Judicial (PTJ), and personnel of the old PDF formed the new FPP/PNP.⁵³ The PNP became a uniformed police agency responsible for daily law enforcement functions, such as maintenance of order, community patrol, movement of traffic, and initial response to crimes. The PTJ assumed primary criminal investigative responsibilities.

The United States provided a level of assistance sufficient to allow the Panamanians to start to build the new police force, but it was not adequate to prevent continued dependence on the United States or to achieve the thorough professionalization of the organization.⁵⁴ Issues related to the equipping and training of the PNP illustrate this problem.

Equipping the PNP with weapons, uniforms, radios, vehicles, and other equipment was accomplished using existing U.S. security assistance funds, U.S. uniforms under the congressional waiver of Section 660, as well as former PDF equipment. Many of the recovered weapons turned out to be “damaged goods,” however, so use of security assistance funds was required to outfit the PNP. PDF vehicles were refurbished by U.S. forces using operational funds under the authority of Operation Just Cause until January 20, 1990, when DOD directed that this practice cease. Thus, only 40 patrol cars became available to the PNP. Consequently, security assistance money had to be used to obtain surplus U.S. military trucks and new Chevrolet patrol cars. While awaiting arrival of these vehicles, the only way mounted patrols could be conducted under peacetime rules was as joint patrols with U.S. Military Police in the latter’s vehicles. Concern for the high U.S. military profile created by patrolling in U.S. military vehicles caused the MSG to lease civilian patrol cars for the joint patrols. Under the law, however, only U.S. personnel could drive them.⁵⁵

A related concern involved the large number of weapons that had fallen into the hands of Panamanian citizens. Hence, an attractive weapons buy-back program was instituted. This program was successful in getting weapons off the street and contributed to public order.⁵⁶

Training the new PNP proved to be a difficult and complex process. ICITAP was tasked to create a civilian police force, impart modern methods of policing, and replace the U.S. military as advisors to the PNP. Its statutory authority was limited to developing criminal investigations, forensics, and administrative capabilities of Latin American security forces and to curriculum development. Its work up until that time had focused on investigative units rather than training “cops on the beat.” Nor did it have any previous experience in the design and development of a public security institution-building project, let alone one of the magnitude and complexity of the Panama project.⁵⁷

Nevertheless, in January 1990, ICITAP was tasked to develop a 2?-year plan to restore law enforcement services in Panama. At the time of Just Cause, ICITAP was staffed by FBI Special Agents and other civilians with law enforcement investigative experience. The project received a total of $13.2 million from the State Department’s Inter-American Affairs Bureau.⁵⁸ ICITAP collected information through on-site observations and consultative contacts with senior Panamanian Government and police officials. This was used to assess the training and resource needs of the PNP and subsequently formulate a Panama Program Description and Budget. An initial plan was published in February 1990, but approximately 4 months later, a much more expanded and detailed project plan had been developed and approved.

As a result of the delay in ICITAP startup, Ambassador Hinton made no effort to move the U.S. military out of its relationship with the PNP. Indeed, the PNP called on the MSG to provide a team of reservists who were policemen in civilian life to develop a short, 20-hour transition training course. These military reservists continued for an extended period in a liaison function under the “rules of engagement,” discussed above, crafted by Deputy Chief of Mission Bushnell and approved by the interagency process. Ambassador Hinton was generally satisfied with the job done by reserve MPs although he was concerned about the way the military attempted to organize the Panamanian police along military instead of police organizational lines.⁵⁹

Although it recognized the difference in scope and magnitude of the task, ICITAP initially continued the approach it had been using in other Latin American countries, that is, a series of short seminars and courses, taught in English, by instructors drawn mainly from the ranks of retired FBI agents. Those instructors were contracted by ICITAP’s “permanent” consulting firm which handled the organizations’ logistics. The most important course was the 120-hour “transition” training for former PDF members selected to become part of the new PNP, which included police ethics and community relations. This course replaced the 20-hour course which served as a stop-gap measure until the preparation for the former was complete.

ICITAP’s startup problem was compounded by the fact that, for its first 6 months, it had no permanent staff in Panama,⁶⁰ although the ICITAP Director and Deputy Director alternated in running the operation there. However, by-mid 1990, ICITAP had established a permanent presence in Panama with several professionals. Its most successful program was the establishment of a Police Academy in September 1990. The first class of 250 recruits began training in November 1990 and graduated in February 1991. ICITAP also established training centers throughout the country. Forty-eight cadets from the former PDF military academy were selected to form a leadership nucleus for the future PNP. These cadets were provided funding to attend an 8-week program at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia.⁶¹

ICITAP also began providing assistance in 1990 to the reconstituted Judicial Technical Police (PTJ), including instruction, upgraded forensic capabilities, and a new laboratory (completed in September 1991). Some 350 former investigative officials were purged by combined efforts of ICITAP and the new government and were replaced by vetted former PDF members.

By mid-1996, Panamanian instructors, themselves trained by ICITAP, were conducting all cadet training at the PNP Academy. A total of 4,500 new cadets completed basic training courses, and 2,500 officers had taken advanced courses. ICITAP also worked with the Panamanian Government to create a special unit to investigate money laundering and to develop other capabilities designed to cope with the huge problem of narcotics trafficking.

Public Perceptions

At the outset, a majority of Panamanians welcomed and supported the U.S. intervention. The lasting legacy of this action, however, will be greatly influenced by the outcome of U.S.-supported efforts to reform the public security institutions. Over time it has become obvious that incorporating officers and men from the PDF into the “new” Public Force inevitably meant that much of the deviant subcultures and corruption which characterized Noriega’s PDF continued to survive. In spite of the resources that were allocated to the re-establishment and sustainment of the police force, much more will be required if Panama is to have an effective police force with the confidence of the public. This is even more true for the judicial and penal systems that must be in place for the police force to be effective.

The legal, judicial, and penal systems do not function well today—even though this may not distinguish Panama from various other Central American or Caribbean countries. Cases do not get tried; people languish in pretrial detention for months and years;⁶² jails continue to be excessively overcrowded and violent. So far as the public is concerned, the failure of law enforcement is exemplified by the fact that 7 years after Just Cause, the 1984 Spadafora torture and murder case still had not been brought to trial.

There has been a marked failure to create a professional, nonpolitical PNP and supporting judicial system. U.S. training and support made the organization technically more proficient but did not lessen the institution’s propensity for corruption or alter its fundamental hostility toward the democratic process.⁶³ The police organization has continued to be structured along the same unitary lines as the old PDF. In general, the most competent officers were also the most loyal to Noriega—and tainted. When these were purged, the least competent remained. Ambassador Hinton cites the inability of the PNP to cope with the demonstration against President Bush as an example. On the other hand, a recent State Department visitor to Panama City observed the PNP peacefully clear the streets of a large crowd of angry demonstrators, maintaining discipline and avoiding the use of forceful measures despite the killing of a policeman by a large stone dropped from a nearby building.

An indicator of the level of public insecurity is the large number of private security guards stationed at many commercial and residential properties, a phenomenon common to many other Latin American countries. There are over 100 highly paid private security agencies that together have nearly as many armed personnel as the entire PNP. Because of the high crime rate, and because businessmen do not trust the police, a whole new set of “private armies” has been created, replacing the “fee for services” system formerly employed by the old PDF. Excessive numbers of PNP personnel are used for static guard duty to protect homes and offices of senior government officials and political figures, contrary to the blandishments of ICITAP. This combination of large numbers of government-sanctioned armed forces has potentially militarized Panamanian society.⁶⁴ To date, this has not resulted in armed feuds, however, and Panama is certainly not the only country to be affected by this troubling regional trend.

The public security mission within Operation Just Cause did not unfold gracefully for various reasons. The requirement became apparent only after the intervention was underway, thus the response was ad hoc. Military police from the 18^th Airborne Corps, troops from the 193^rd Infantry Brigade, and Special Forces troops were used to deal with the general looting and chaos occasioned by the destruction of the PDF and absence of other law enforcement elements in Panama City. Although the plan eventually invoked, Blind Logic, included public security measures, it did not envision the immediate vetting of the PDF or its reconstitution as the PNP. U.S. infantry troops were augmented by military police reinforcements and by the quick-fix creation of a “new” Panamanian police force made up of fully screened former PDF officers and men. Use of civilian “jurists” was not originally part of Just Cause. They were called upon later (via the U.S. Agency for International Development, AID) but had limited resources and preparation. Joint U.S. military-Panamanian patrols provided public security until they were replaced by the new PNP with limited ICITAP assistance.⁶⁵ After the initial delay in getting organized, the ICITAP training program began to function effectively. Congress, by assigning ICITAP the mission of training the entire PNP, a mission for which it was unprepared, while prohibiting the military from this mission, unknowingly legislated a security gap. Because of the success of ICITAP’s early programs in El Salvador, expectations were unreasonably high on the part of some in the DOD, and this may have contributed to tensions between the military and ICITAP.⁶⁶

The operational objectives of Operation Just Cause were to protect American lives, to ensure implementation of the Panama Canal Treaties, and to remove General Noriega from power. In an operational sense, however, Just Cause was clearly a success.

The strategic objective of Operations Just Cause and Promote Liberty was to help establish democracy in Panama. This was understood by some as simply the inauguration of the elected Endara government. In part, this was due to a misperception as to the future role of the PDF (later the PNP) and an overoptimistic view of Endara’s ability to take control of the government and transform it into something distinct from the corrupt practices of the Noriega regime and before.

The short-term outcome was that, after about a year, the PNP had no non-PDF recruits (the 48 untainted cadets notwithstanding), corruption had reappeared, and the PNP was unable to provide a level of public security perceived as satisfactory by the Panamanian people. The long-term prospects are perhaps more promising. Some outside observers contend that both the Government and the public security apparatus are suffering a crisis of legitimacy, that while some faces have changed, the Panamanian National Police and the judicial system are today no more committed to the cause of justice than the old.⁶⁷ Others see an improved situation, comparable to or even better than some other countries in Central America with similarly troubled histories. In Panama itself, a series of six polls conducted between 1993 and 1996 showed that twice as many respondents believed that the PNP had improved under the Endara Government than believed policing had gotten worse.

Factors That Determined the Outcome

The principal issues that plagued the U.S. effort to assist the Panamanian government to establish credible and legitimate public security were failure to anticipate the consequences of intervention (i.e., the deployment gap) and organizational limitations in dealing with the void in public security once it became apparent (i.e., the enforcement gap). These are not completely separate concepts but very much interrelated.

In the long run, however, the more important determinants of the impact on the public security function were the limitations of the Panamanian political process (i.e., the institutional gap).

The Deployment Gap. In this case, the deployment gap consisted of the period between the disintegration of the PDF as a result of the Just Cause intervention and the arrival of sufficient military police, Civil Affairs, and regular infantry troops to quell looting and lawlessness in major urban areas of Panama. Moreover, the gap was prolonged by the initial absence of civilian law enforcement programs. This has been attributed to the fact that planning for Just Cause was done on a very restricted basis.

Concern for operational security was paramount. During the Reagan administration, proceedings of several highly classified interagency sessions had been leaked to the press, seriously damaging the administration’s Panama policy. Because of the large U.S. population living in Panama (40,000) Just Cause had to be conducted with the utmost secrecy. The danger of a hostage situation was very real. (In fact, 13 U.S. citizens were taken hostage on December 20; all were subsequently rescued.) The fact that Just Cause was carried out without great loss of U.S. troops and only one U.S. civilian being killed was due in no small measure to the security in which the operation was planned. Nevertheless, more key individuals might have been involved in planning so that the appropriate agencies could have developed a coordinated plan for addressing the full range of public security issues raised by this action.

The Enforcement Gap. After order had been restored and civil-military activities had been routinized under the Military Support Group-Panama, the next challenge was to develop an interim Panamanian police force to assume the task of local law enforcement. U.S. military forces are prohibited from conducting police training activities, although Congress did grant a waiver for security assistance funds to be used to equip the new police force. As noted above, no advance planning had been done to fill this void, and the civilian entity belatedly assigned to perform this task, ICITAP, was not designed or staffed for rapid response, nor had it ever undertaken a project of this magnitude. A failure to grasp these limitations caused ICITAP’s military counterparts a great deal of consternation and obliged the use of MPs in a quasi-training role. ICITAP developed a 120-hour curriculum to train personnel who would be permanently retained by the PNP as well as other training programs.

The Institutional Gap. U.S. advice and training alone cannot compensate for a paralyzed judicial system, an inadequate legal code, a hopelessly overcrowded penal system, and endless political efforts to manipulate the police and the judicial process. The U.S. Government and particularly ICITAP have been in a constant struggle with the Government of Panama over reforms to the police and judicial systems. Panama has tended to retain habits ingrained over decades.

Rebuilding a civilian police force from a collapsed military establishment, moreover, presents a different set of problems than reconstituting a discrete civilian police force. It is extremely difficult to take a disbanded army and turn some of its personnel into a civilian police force that understands police-community relations, is integrated into society, and is governed by principles of human dignity and respect for the rights of individuals.

Owing to these daunting political, organizational, and cultural challenges, building a stable, well-functioning civilian police institution is a long-term proposition. Enough time must be programmed into such projects to allow for systematic and comprehensive institution-building, including the development of policies and procedures, management capabilities, and administrative infrastructures, as well as the creation of self-monitoring, internal affairs functions.

Given the enormity of the challenges before it, ICITAP has made substantial contributions over time to enhancing the capacity of Panamanian public security forces. Developing policing capacity, however, is a necessary but not sufficient condition to produce a public security establishment capable of providing law, order, and justice. Ultimately, the requisite political will must be present to make reform work. Political elites must adopt these goals as their own, otherwise, assistance programs will run the risk of merely making corrupt systems more efficient.

Some significant progress seems to have been made in Panama by dint of sustained efforts by ICITAP and the Panamanian Government, even if important problems remain. However, it is important to realize that U.S. expectations for foreign law enforcement institutions may not be fully achieved, no matter how much help is provided.

Lessons Applicable to Other Operations

The interagency politico-military plan which was used in Haiti and continues to be refined is an outgrowth of both the Panama and Somalia experiences. It must be remembered that with these latter operations as well as Bosnia, secrecy was not a concern. In fact, military movements were intentionally made public.

On a negative note, the weapons buy-back program that was successful in Panama was not successful in Somalia. A lesson here is to look at the culture. Panama has traditionally been a nonviolent society and owning a weapon has no particular significance. In Somalia, owning a weapon is associated with manhood.⁶⁸

The difficulty in pinpointing Noriega’s location, sophisticated intelligence notwithstanding, was revisited in Somalia in the attempt to apprehend Aideed, and proved it to be a nearly impossible task.

Perhaps the most important lesson from Just Cause is the recognition of the need for an international civilian police contingent to fill the security gap that neither the military nor ICITAP alone can or should be expected to fill.

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