United States forces invaded Panama on 20 December 1989 to depose General Manuel Noriega, who had annulled the 1989 election results and been indicted in the United States on drug charges. The assault on the Panamanian Defence Forces headquarters, La Comandancia, set fires that destroyed much of the adjoining El Chorrillo, a densely populated neighbourhood of wooden tenements; United States accounts attribute part of the burning to Noriega's paramilitary Dignity Battalions, Panamanian residents and human rights groups to the American bombardment. The Pentagon put Panamanian deaths at 516, including 202 civilians; Americas Watch estimated about 300 civilian deaths, Panama's Institute of Legal Medicine reported 342-346 total dead by 1991, and Panamanian human rights organisations have claimed figures in the thousands. Around 20,000 people lost their homes, many living in shelters for more than a year before replacement housing was built, with recurrent complaints about its quality. The United Nations General Assembly, the Organization of American States and the European Parliament condemned the invasion as a violation of international law; the United States cited protection of its nationals, the canal treaties and the restoration of the elected government. Panama later created a commission to investigate the deaths, and 20 December is a national day of mourning.
United States forces invaded Panama to remove General Manuel Noriega; fighting and fire destroyed the El Chorrillo neighbourhood of Panama City
Pre-invasion estimates for the densely built wooden tenement district around the Comandancia run from about 20,000 to 30,000; Panama's 1990 census, taken after the fire and the demolition of the burnt blocks, counted roughly 19,000-21,000 people in the corregimiento. The figure used here is the mid-point of the pre-invasion range.
The Pentagon counted 202 civilians and 314 Panamanian soldiers killed; Americas Watch put civilian deaths at about 300, and Panama's Institute of Legal Medicine reported 342-346 dead in total by February 1991, of whom at least 280-305 were civilians. Panamanian human rights groups have long claimed 3,000 or more, a figure that has not been substantiated by exhumations, though Human Rights Watch noted that the exhumations were carried out with bulldozers and in disregard of the need to preserve evidence, so all figures are soft. Twenty-three United States soldiers and three United States civilians were killed.
The destruction of El Chorrillo's housing by fire and bombardment and the resulting displacement are documented in Human Rights Watch's 1991 report on post-invasion Panama and in the United States compensation programme for displaced families.
Panama