Battle Analysis Essay: Operation Just Cause

Introduction

On 20 December 1989, the United States (US) launched an attack on Panama using US Special forces and US Conventional forces to overthrow the Panamanian dictator, Manuel Noriega. The operation lasted over a month with 23 US personnel killed in action (KIA) and 325 wounded. The operation was executed after Noriega and his followers became more and more hostile towards US personnel and dependents in Panama. US politicians attempted multiple avenues of negotiations to avoid the use of force but Noriega felt his army could handle a fight with the US Soldiers. By the end of Operation Just Cause, Noriega’s army had been disbanded, and the dictator was eventually captured and extradited to the US for prosecution. 

Before the operation

Before Operation Just Cause, Noriega was seen as an ally to the US. The focus of US politicians was the control and operation of the Panama Canal to which Noriega seemed to align with those plans. Noriega came to power after his predecessor and former dictator of Panama Omar Torrijos died in a suspicious plane crash. Noriega used his relationships in the National Guard to gain the support to take the top position in the Panama Defense Force (PDF), an organization that included the armed forces, police, and investigative services of Panama. This would allow Noriega to establish himself as the next dictator of Panama.

 Early on, Noriega had developed a positive relationship with the U.S. Intelligence Service and presented himself as an ally who shared common goals with the U.S. During that time Noriega also built a relationship with the Medellin, Colombia Cartel. The U.S. warned Noriega that his dealings with the Cartel did not align with the U.S. mission. Eventually the U.S. was able to back an opposition group led by Noriega’s former PDF chief of staff. The former PDF colonel accused Noriega of election fraud, allowing the death of Torrijos, and the murder of the leader of his political opposition. When Noriega learned of the U.S. backing of his opposition he sent a mob of supporters to attack the U.S. embassy Panama causing the U.S. State Department to cut all economic and military aid to Panama. 

In February 1988, a federal grand jury indicted Noriega for his role in drug trafficking sparking retaliation against U.S. personnel and dependents in Panama.  U.S. Soldiers and their families became the targets of attacks by pro-Noriega groups putting many of the U.S. citizen’s lives at risk. In the months leading up to the operation, U.S. personnel noticed growing hostility from the Panamanian military as well as the population. In order to protect U.S. lives, military officials began to devise an operation to take out their leader.

Prayer Book

The U.S. recognized the relationship with Noriega was too far gone and the need to take action would soon be the reality. The U.S. developed contingency plans called Elaborate Maze. This was intended to protect U.S. lives and property, to keep open the Canal, to conduct noncombatant evacuation operations in peaceful or hostile environments, and to develop a plan to assist any government that might replace the Noriega regime (Cole, 1995). Elaborate Maze was originally one large operation but the Joint Chiefs of Staff requested it be broken down into four separate operations called operation Prayer Book.

The first operation was called Klondike Key. This operation was focused on noncombatant evacuation operations (NEO). In this process, all U.S./affiliated noncombatant personnel living in Panama are moved to a staging area where they are processed for evacuation. There were around 40,000 U.S. citizens living in Panama and the reality was they would have to evacuate them in a hostile environment.

The next operation was operation Post Time. In this operation, the 193 Infantry Brigade along deploying forces from the U.S. were tasked with protecting U.S. citizens, installations and importantly the Panama Canal. Following Post Time was Blue Spoon and Blind Logic. Blue Spoon would conduct operations to destroy Noriega’s PDF. The Soldiers already stationed in Panama conducted this operation which lasted eight days. 

The final operation in Prayer Book was Blind Logic. In this operation the focus was to the transfer of power to the new Panamanian government.  U.S. forces worked with the new government to create a new PDF to support its efforts. This plan shaped the way for operation Just Cause.

Operation Just Cause

On 20 December 1989, the U.S. launched Operation Just Cause to dismantle the PDF and capture Manuel Noriega. H hour began at 0045 on 20 December. It was originally planned to happen at 0100 hours, but it was moved up 15 minutes earlier in response to a U.S. dependent being shot by PDF. The PDF was growing more hostile and the night of the operation they had begun committing a series of violent acts against U.S. citizens which prompted U.S. leaders to initiate the operation 15 minutes earlier.

On the night of the operation, Noriega was located at the Torrijos-Tocumen International Airport. This airport was the site of the airborne assault conducted by Army rangers and paratroopers from the 82nd during H hour. Noriega viewed the airport as a stronghold because the PDF had around 2000 troops stationed near the airport. U.S. Soldiers began to jump onto the airport but were seen by PDF troops who immediately alerted the other soldiers and began a defense. U.S. troops faced another problem, Soldiers were injuring themselves on the airport tarmac.

A drop zone is mainly grass or dirt but for the Soldiers jumping into the airport, some hit the concrete and sustained injuries to their legs, ankles, and feet. The task force commander accepted this risk and mitigated it by air dropping thousands of troops in order to ensure injured soldiers would not stop the operation. The Soldiers engaged the PDF through small arms fire for around 6 hours capturing the airport and taking custody of around 50 PDF. Following the assault, U.S. Soldiers set up security checkpoints around the airport where Noriega eventually ran into one of the checkpoints. Instead of driving through the airport he turned around and went the other way. (Martin & United States Military Acedemy, n.d.)

In the final hours of Operation Just Cause, Noriega would be surrounded by U.S. troops at la Nunciatura del Vatican (a holy compound equivalent to an embassy). 24 December Noriega sought refuge in the nunciatura while the U.S. attempted to negotiate with the Vatican to turn over Noriega to the waiting troops. The U.S. Soldiers waited outside of the compound until Noriega surrendered himself without fight and was extradited to the U.S. The success of Operation Just Cause opened the door for the last phase, Blind Logic.

Conclusion

By the end of Operation Just Cause casualty figures totaled “23 U.S. killed and 322 wounded; 297 Panamanians killed, 123 wounded, and 468 detained. Joint Task Force South had captured 36 armored vehicles, 7 boats, 33 aircraft, and 33,507 weapons”(Cole, 1995). Noriega served 17 years of a 40 year sentence in a U.S. prison. He was extradited to France where he received a 7 year prison sentence eventually being released in 2007. Operation Just Cause was labeled a success and provided a template for future U.S. Military operations. 

References 

BBC.com. (2019, December 20). Panama invasion: The US operation that ousted Noriega. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-50837024

Cole, R. (1995). OPERATION JUST CAUSE The Planning and Execution of Joint Operations in Panama. https://www.jcs.mil/Portals/36/Documents/History/Monographs/Just_Cause.pdf

Kasper, D. (1992). The Panama Deception. In C-SPAN.org. https://www.c-span.org/video/?467566-1/the-panama-deception

Martin, F., & United States Military Acedemy. (n.d.). Map of us-operation just cause, invasion of panama, December 1989 - January 1990. [Online Image]. In commons.wikimedia.org. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Operation_Just_Cause.jpg.