December 20 has been declared a Day of National Mourning in Panama in memory of the events of 1989, when the United States attacked the country's capital. This day honors those who died on December 20 during the brutal and unjust invasion of the American army.
The decision to carry out Operation Just Sause, the main purpose of which was the arrest of Panamanian dictator Manuel Antonio Noriega, was made by the US President on December 18, 1989. On the 20th, at about two o'clock in the morning, the operation began, by the morning the main resistance points, namely two local army bases and its headquarters in the center of Panama City, were suppressed.
The intervention against Panama was the largest US military action since the aggression in Vietnam. In an effort to justify themselves in the face of the world community for the armed invasion, representatives of the US administration have repeatedly stated that the goals of the operation were, first of all, to protect American citizens in Panama, remove General Noriega from all leadership positions and put him on trial as one of the leaders of the drug mafia. And on January 12, 1990, the United States announced the start of a humanitarian operation (Operation Promote Liberty), which lasted until 1991.
The losses of the American armed forces during the fighting, according to Western sources, amounted to 23 killed and about 330 wounded. The National Defense Forces and « battalions of dignity» of Panama lost 314 people killed and 124 wounded. At the trial of General Noriega, former US Secretary of Justice R. Clark said, citing data from the Red Cross, hospitals and human rights organizations, that the intervention killed between 4,000 and 7,000 Panamanian civilians.
After the end of hostilities, an investigation was conducted in the United States into crimes committed by American military personnel during the operation in Panama. 21 criminal cases were opened, 8 of which were related to murders.
In Panama, a funeral march is held annually on December 20 to mark the anniversary of the US invasion and commemorate the victims of the invasion.