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00:01Next on Secrets of War.
00:04Untold stories behind the boldest United States military strikes since Vietnam.
00:09The surprise invasion of Panama.
00:11The secret build-up to the attack.
00:14The classified mission by special forces to rescue an American hostage.
00:18And the manhunt for a dictator who pushed his luck too far.
00:23The invasion of Panama is next on Secrets of War.
00:40The Space Force To Espero
00:41Under this, we have the right team to to be around the north.
00:43And the one we were kind to be there in the wild we found.
00:47The freedom of war is to be around the war.
00:48The seven, the seven, the seven, the seven, the five.
04:14Panama and the United States, first of all, are very close.
04:17They're very close in terms of culture, in terms of people, intermarriage, tremendous amount of intermarriage between Panamanians and Americans.
04:25And one has to wonder over time whether there's a separate Panama that exists or if, in fact, Panama is
04:33a kind of a 51st state of the United States.
04:36The wealth flowing into the Canal Zone didn't improve the economic status of many Panamanians living around it.
04:44The affluent lifestyle of the Zonians, or U.S. citizens living in the Canal Zone, led to anti-American resentment
04:51by some in the country.
04:55There were several bloody uprisings, including a student riot in 1964, in which over 20 Panamanians were killed.
05:05In 1977, the United States agreed to give up the Panama Canal by the year 2000.
05:12President Jimmy Carter and General Omar Torrijos signed a treaty that eliminated the Panama Canal Zone.
05:18The treaty began the gradual process of relinquishing the canal and several military installations to Panamanian control.
05:28In a few years, Carter would be out of office and Torrijos would be killed in a suspicious plane crash.
05:35Their vision of a peaceful transition was not to be.
05:40In 1983, General Manuel Antonio Noriega became leader of the Panamanian Defense Force, or PDF, and essentially the ruler of
05:50Panama.
05:51A master at intelligence gathering, Noriega collected information on friends and enemies, then sold it for a price.
05:59Business was very good. Noriega's personal wealth was reported to be immense.
06:04Despite persistent reports of drug trafficking, corruption, and brutality, several agencies of the U.S. government found Noriega useful.
06:14The Central Intelligence Agency had worked with him since the 1960s.
06:19When George Bush was director of the CIA, he met with Noriega in 1976.
06:25When he was vice president, he met Noriega again in 1983.
06:30Noriega saw the United States government with the eye of a fly.
06:36He was able to break down the U.S. government into many parts, see them all at the same time
06:43and see how they acted together.
06:45And he paid particular attention to the parts of the government that most affected Panama and most affected his fortune.
06:55As the Reagan administration worried about communism in Latin America, Noriega established a relationship with Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North.
07:05North was the point man in what was a clandestine operation to support anti-communist rebels in Nicaragua.
07:15In 1985, Oliver North came to Panama a number of times to ask Noriega for help.
07:22Could Contra leaders meet in Panama?
07:25Sure, said Noriega.
07:26Could they train there?
07:28Sure, said Noriega.
07:29North appeared to venerate Noriega as a real tough hombre who was able to really do things without laws.
07:39In 1987, Noriega's political fortune began to change.
07:43That year, one of Noriega's top aides accused him of fixing elections and being involved with the murder of a
07:50political opponent.
07:51In February of 1988, two federal grand juries in Florida indicted Noriega on drug trafficking charges.
07:59The Reagan administration called for him to resign and imposed harsh economic sanctions on Panama.
08:06Now facing economic hardship, Panamanian citizens began to protest.
08:12After years of military dictatorship and corruption, they wanted a democratic government.
08:26The perception of Noriega in Washington began to change from intelligence asset to political embarrassment.
08:38Removing him became a U.S. national security interest.
08:41But exactly how was unclear.
08:45In the past, we've put up with corrupt Panamanian dictators as long as they served our interests.
08:51And our interest in Panama, of course, is the canal.
08:54Noriega got to be too much.
08:57He got to be too corrupt.
08:59He got to be too brutal.
09:07As the rhetoric grew between the United States and Noriega, armed confrontation seemed inevitable.
09:14Ironically, American troops now faced an army that in many ways was created by their government.
09:20Panama had only a police force until the 1950s, when the U.S. began spending millions of dollars turning it
09:27into a military force to help defend the canal.
09:31By the late 80s, the Panamanian Defense Force numbered around 18,000 troops.
09:37A majority of the P.D.F. were police and administration personnel.
09:42Only about 3,500 were trained infantry.
09:46These included the Macho de Monte, or mountain men, and special forces units.
09:52There was also the Battalion 2000.
09:54Its name was a reference to the year 2000, and the ironic fact that the United States had been training
10:00these soldiers to take over the defense of the canal in that year.
10:06American military planners in Panama had envisioned many threats, but never a hostile Panamanian military.
10:13After the indictment of Noriega in February 1988, they began to plan for a possible confrontation with the P.D
10:20.F.
10:20The U.S. had almost 10,000 troops deployed in Panama as part of U.S. Southern Command, or SOUTHCOMP.
10:28General Fred Warner was the commander.
10:31His staff developed a top-secret plan called Elaborate Maze.
10:35It called for a gradual phased buildup of U.S. forces.
10:39The plan had five phases.
10:41The offensive or attack phase was later codenamed Blue Spoon.
10:47Warner believed the U.S. did not have to attack Panama to remove Noriega.
10:52If he was ordered to do so, he would follow the plan and mass his forces.
10:57However, he had his own secret strategy in mind to avoid fighting and bloodshed.
11:02With his troops in position, he would personally call senior P.D.F. officers on the phone and tell them
11:08to overthrow Noriega or else.
11:12If you solve the problem internally, we won't have to fight, and this will go down as a training exercise.
11:18He figured he wouldn't have to make more than two or three phone calls, and it would get solved.
11:23And if it didn't, he had the force to do it and simply overwhelm the P.D.F.
11:29That psychological operation, if you will, was never published as part of any plan.
11:37That was in General Warner's head.
11:39When he told it to me, I reacted with a good lord.
11:44That really would have worked.
11:48To add to Noriega's forces, dignity battalions were created made up of volunteers.
11:54Benjamin Colomarco, one of the leaders, insisted they were patriots.
12:01Our goal in the battalions was essentially to act as a backup, as a second line of defense
12:07for the armed forces of the Republic of Panama to repel an attack by the U.S. Army.
12:16So it was a group made up of different classes, especially from the urban areas who had a wide
12:22sense of nationalism.
12:29In May of 1989, Panama held democratic elections.
12:34Noriega's candidate was defeated in a landslide by a coalition party led by President Guillermo
12:40Indara.
12:41One of his vice presidents was Billy Ford.
12:45The dictator of the time decided to annul the election that same evening.
12:50Then on Wednesday, the 10th of May, we decided to go out and fight for success, our triumph.
12:59All of a sudden, all hell broke loose when the dignity battalions were hoodlums, members
13:05of the paramilitary.
13:06They sort of broke the lines, protected by the armed forces, and they started hitting everybody
13:12and their friend that was very near the plaza.
13:15Vice President Billy Ford and the other opposition leaders barely escaped with their lives.
13:23Eventually, one of the guys on the right-hand side tore down the window, took a Garfio, hit
13:29me on the shoulder, and pulled out two tendons.
13:32That's the blood that you can see on the shirt.
13:34It was just a madhouse.
13:38As the PDF and dignity battalions waged war against Panamanian citizens, U.S. officials worried
13:45that the thousands of American citizens in Panama might become a target of Noriega's army.
13:57The signing of the Car de Torrijos Treaty in 1979 set the stage for the Panama crisis
14:03because this document governed relations between the two countries.
14:09The treaty opened several U.S. military bases to the Panamanian military.
14:13At these bases, Panamanian and U.S. guards stood side by side.
14:19At installations like Fort Amador, U.S. families lived in houses just 100 yards away from PDF
14:25barracks, and one of General Noriega's headquarters.
14:28Only a golf course separated them.
14:33Even though the Car de Torrijos Treaty bound Panamanian and U.S. soldiers together in many
14:38ways, there was increasing hostility between them.
14:43When they dig a fighting position that is within about 200 yards of my house, and my wife lives
14:52in that house, and on a particular day they appointed that 50 cal at my house or another
15:00family member's house, we took that very seriously.
15:03The Reagan administration was divided on how to solve the Noriega problem, and 1988 was
15:09an election year.
15:11Vice President George Bush was running for president.
15:14Southern Command received the word from Washington to avoid headlines, so Bush's past dealings with
15:20Noriega would not be scrutinized.
15:24With a lack of a clear policy, the hands of U.S. forces in Panama were tied.
15:29The PDF began to harass and intimidate American soldiers and civilians.
15:36From 1987 to 1989, Americans reported thousands of incidents, including arrests, beatings, even
15:45and rape.
15:47After the election violence in May of 1989, George Bush, now President Bush, gave the green
15:54light to Southcom, not to invade, but to engage Noriega and the PDF with a show of force.
16:02Southern Command began conducting military exercises called sand fleas.
16:08These maneuvers, often conducted on U.S. installations, were part training and part psychological warfare.
16:16The exercises gave U.S. troops a chance to practice elements of their secret invasion plans.
16:23They were also designed to show that American forces would move freely, usually in armored personnel
16:30carriers, to defend U.S. interests.
16:34Despite American claims that these maneuvers were legal and within their treaty rights, some
16:39Panamanians considered them acts of provocation.
16:43Sometimes these U.S. convoys would encounter Dignity Battalion members.
16:52They violated the dignity of our country as an independent nation.
16:56This is a very shameful act.
16:58We took great care not to give in to those acts of provocation, and displayed our nationalism
17:04better yet.
17:05On many occasions, members of the Dignity Battalions had to face the U.S. Army war tanks with Panamanian
17:10flags alone, without any weapons, raising only the Panamanian flag, demanding that our sovereignty
17:18be respected.
17:26Panamanian television, controlled by Noriega, responded to U.S. military force with propaganda
17:33broadcasts.
17:34With only flags and their fists, the outraged and heroic people of Chorrera protested the
17:39arrival of American troops.
17:44Dignity Battalions and U.S. troops also confronted each other at U.S. facilities.
17:57They would bring some little old lady and start chewing out the American soldiers, you know,
18:01in Spanish.
18:04And most American soldiers didn't speak Spanish, so they would try to argue with the lady, and
18:07I'd tell them, listen, listen, do you guys watch after an operation?
18:11I'd say, did you watch the Panamanian news?
18:12No.
18:13He says, you ought to watch the Panamanian news.
18:14See how you're coming out.
18:16Major General Cisneros countered Noriega's propaganda by meeting with the Spanish-speaking
18:21press.
18:23As an Hispanic from Texas, he presented a different viewpoint.
18:29I'm confronting the Panamanians, calling them everything that they really are, thugs, and
18:34so forth, and man, they wanted to kill me.
18:36You know, they saw me as a Hispanic traitor.
18:40I think that Mark Cisneros will go down in history as a Chicano who betrayed the Hispanic race.
18:45And he was instrumental in invading a country of his brothers, of his own Latin American
18:50blood.
18:53It was a surreal game of brinksmanship as U.S. and Panamanian troops confronted each other.
19:01The rule book was the Cartatoreios Treaty.
19:04One of the conditions of the treaty was that the U.S. had to inform the PDF before they conducted
19:09every exercise.
19:12Southcom used this rule to its advantage.
19:15We were jerking them, and that's what we wanted to do.
19:17We would wake them up at 2 or 3 in the morning, and they would go on alert, and they
19:21would go
19:21on alert, and we were just doing it over and over and over again.
19:26It got to the point that when we would do them, they would not go on alert anymore.
19:30These sand flea exercises were a major secretive success for Operation Just Cause.
19:36The Panamanians were desensitized to U.S. troop movements, allowing the Americans to achieve
19:42a greater degree of tactical surprise during the invasion.
19:47In October of 1989, Southcom received a report that someone in the PDF would try to overthrow
19:54Noriega.
19:56U.S. troops deployed to various positions with orders to observe.
20:01One of the general's trusted officers succeeded in arresting Noriega and held him prisoner in
20:07the Comandancia, a compound of military buildings in the heart of Panama City.
20:14However, General Maxwell Thurman, the new Southcom commander, and his superiors in Washington
20:19didn't believe this was an actual coup.
20:22They thought it was another Noriega trick to embarrass the Americans.
20:27U.S. troops blocked some streets, but not others.
20:31They were ordered not to intervene as troops loyal to Noriega moved in to rescue their leader.
20:40At this time, Major General Cisneros was still in contact with Noriega's captors.
20:47So I told him, listen, you don't have control of the situation.
20:51I asked him to turn Noriega over to me.
20:53They said, we will not give you Noriega.
20:54We're going to let him retire in dignity.
20:56I said, you're a fool.
20:57Noriega's not going to let you.
20:58I mean, that is absolutely stupid.
21:00And he said, by the way, they're already near you.
21:08Get back, get back.
21:17Noriega's loyal troops freed him.
21:19Many who were involved with the coup were later tortured and put to death.
21:24For General Noriega, it was a victory.
21:27For the United States, an embarrassing black eye.
21:30The Bush administration had missed a golden opportunity to topple the dictator.
21:37War planning now began in earnest.
21:41Lieutenant General Carl Steiner was put in charge of the invasion.
21:46Steiner and his staff thought that Blue Spoon would give Noriega too much time to take hostages,
21:52prepare a defense, and cause casualties.
21:55The new plan, renamed Operation Plan 90-1 and later 90-2,
22:01was a blitzkrieg assault that would remove Noriega and destroy the PDF.
22:0626,000 soldiers would be involved.
22:09Paratroopers from the United States and troops already deployed in Panama
22:13would take down 27 key targets throughout the country.
22:17This would happen all at once, all during H-hour, the hour of invasion.
22:23Suddenly, on the 16th of December, 1989,
22:27war was just around the corner for Panama and the United States.
22:31An American officer was shot and killed in a PDF roadblock.
22:35Another American officer was beaten after he and his wife witnessed the shooting.
22:42The next day, the order came to execute the invasion.
22:46The plan was now renamed Operation Just Cause.
22:51D-Day was set for December 20th.
22:53H-hour would be 1 o'clock in the morning.
22:57Close to 10,000 paratroopers would arrive on the first night.
23:03It would be the largest wartime airborne assault since World War II.
23:09In Panama, U.S. troops moved into position.
23:13Many soldiers weren't told that this was an actual assault
23:16until the last possible minute.
23:19Others, who knew that this was the real thing, faced an awful choice.
23:23Either obey orders and keep the invasion secret,
23:26or disobey orders and warn loved ones that they might be in danger.
23:30On the night of December 19th, Noriega was relaxing at a recreation center
23:37next to Torrijos Tokumen International Airport.
23:40He appeared to be unconcerned about reports of an impending invasion.
23:47Noriega felt very secure that it wouldn't happen.
23:50He had high-level contact with the CIA, high-level contact with the DEA,
23:56and these agencies, I think, in the end,
23:59tricked him into believing that there would be no invasion.
24:03Noriega did receive a phone call earlier that day.
24:08The call was from one of his most trusted American friends in Washington,
24:16who told him, don't worry.
24:18This phone call might have been,
24:21and it's one of the big secrets of war, who made it,
24:25might have been the last betrayal.
24:29Around midnight, Noriega's bodyguards brought one of his mistresses to him.
24:40About an hour later,
24:42paratroopers began jumping out of planes above him.
24:46Not only had Noriega miscalculated U.S. intentions,
24:51he had unwittingly placed himself right next to the international airport,
24:55one of the major targets in the opening hour of the invasion.
25:04The 20th of December, 1989,
25:08an AC-130 Spectre gunship quietly cruised above Panama City.
25:14At the hour of invasion, most of Panama was asleep,
25:18completely unaware of the gathering American storm,
25:21Operation Just Cause.
25:24A major target for U.S. forces was Noriega's main headquarters in the Comandancia.
25:40At each hour, the Spectre gunship pounded the Comandancia,
25:46blasting it with its cannons and 105-millimeter howitzer.
25:58The thunder and fury of war jolted civilians out of their sleep.
26:05Some met at front-row seat.
26:09Many turned their TV sets on to find out what was going on.
26:12Southcom's special announcement.
26:14There is fighting throughout Panama,
26:16and all personnel should remain at home, remain in place.
26:22Also at H-hour, U.S. troops moved into Fort Amador.
26:27Southcom had intelligence reports that the PDF would attack U.S. housing there
26:32in retaliation for any invasion.
26:35After securing the housing areas,
26:38U.S. troops blocked the front and rear gates to contain the PDF.
26:47Several PDF soldiers tried to escape by driving their vehicles
26:51at high speed around the U.S. roadblocks, firing their weapons.
26:59We had to get the chaplain to one of the Panamanian soldiers
27:03that was losing a lot of blood.
27:12Another one that kind of sticks in my mind,
27:14he had been shot two or three times,
27:17and part of his leg had been blown off.
27:21Watching a soldier die in front of you,
27:23watching the color leave his body,
27:26you become much more sensitive
27:29to really what kind of your weapons are capable of.
27:35As U.S. soldiers seized Fort Amador,
27:37others had the unenviable task of clearing the commandancia.
27:46As U.S. troops moved in,
27:48snipers fired at them from the surrounding high-rises.
27:54Over megaphones, psychological operation troops
27:57asked the PDF to surrender.
28:11Some Panamanian soldiers listened.
28:25Others stayed and fought back.
28:31The fighting in the commandancia
28:33was among the fiercest in the war.
28:40Throughout the night and into the morning,
28:43U.S. forces took down
28:44every one of the 27 key designated targets.
28:49Among the most important
28:50were Panama's major airports,
28:52including Doritos-Tocumen International Airport
28:55and Rio Ato.
28:58Army rangers parachuted in
29:00and overpowered any PDF resistance.
29:05The worst of the war was over in a few hours.
29:13During the war,
29:14there was a small airfield
29:16just outside Panama City,
29:18near the high-rise district.
29:20Its name was Paitia.
29:23The elite U.S. Navy SEALs
29:25know the name well.
29:27These shadow warriors are still haunted
29:29by the memory of what happened here
29:31during the first hours of Operation Just Cause.
29:36General Noriega kept his Lear jet
29:38at this airfield.
29:39The Southcom staff worried
29:41that he might use it to escape
29:43in the opening moments of the invasion.
29:46The mission for the SEALs
29:48was not only to destroy the jet,
29:50but also to take over the airfield.
29:52It was the type of attack
29:54that Army rangers,
29:55a large company of Army rangers,
29:57should carry out.
29:58The tactics went counter
30:00to what the SEALs traditionally do.
30:04Another problem was that 48 SEALs
30:07were involved in the mission.
30:10SEALs normally plan their tactics
30:12or their assaults
30:13in very, very small numbers.
30:15In some cases,
30:15no more than four or five,
30:17at the most six.
30:20During the invasion,
30:21the SEALs lost the element of surprise.
30:24A Panamanian guard saw them
30:26as they approached in the water.
30:28He ran back to the hangar
30:29to wake up the other guards.
30:32The SEALs were only expecting
30:34three or four lightly armed men.
30:37Their opponents turned out
30:38to be at least twice that many
30:39and well armed.
30:42Seven to 11 individuals,
30:45only four in the Panamanian military.
30:47The rest were Noriega,
30:49hired bodyguards,
30:51most likely from the drug trade.
30:54These were pretty bad hombres there.
30:58The Panamanians had 20 minutes
31:00to set up for an ambush
31:02as the SEALs headed their way.
31:04They spread themselves out
31:06throughout that particular hangar
31:07and the adjacent hangars,
31:08up on the second floor,
31:10ground level,
31:11high on the roof,
31:12and they just waited.
31:16And in the final minutes,
31:17a group of SEALs
31:18stood up in front of the hangar,
31:20completely exposing themselves to fire.
31:24It was such a basic,
31:26you know, day one mistake
31:28as far as tactics is concerned,
31:31that it baffles
31:33all the SEALs that hear about it.
31:36The Panamanian officer
31:37walked out in front of Noriega's hangar
31:40and said,
31:40what are you Americans doing here?
31:43And the Americans said to him,
31:45in English,
31:47a little bit of broken Spanish,
31:49put your weapons down.
31:51And the Panamanian officer replied,
31:54you should not be running exercises here.
31:57This is very dangerous.
32:00And shortly thereafter,
32:01fire broke out.
32:04After a minute and a half of gunfire,
32:07four SEALs lay dead
32:08in the Paitia tarmac
32:09and eight were wounded.
32:12The remaining SEALs opened up
32:14with everything they had,
32:15completely destroying the hangar
32:17and every aircraft in sight,
32:19including Noriega's Learjet.
32:23The mission was accomplished,
32:24but the repercussions from that night
32:26are still felt in the SEAL community.
32:30To a regular conventional military commander,
32:33a casualty is the result of war.
32:35He expects 5%, 10%,
32:38whatever percentage casualties
32:39in any type of military operations.
32:41For a Navy SEALs,
32:43if there's a casualty,
32:44it means somebody made a mistake.
32:46And so they spend a lot of time
32:48after an operation,
32:49particularly if there is a casualty,
32:51second-guessing each other
32:52and accusing each other,
32:53trying to figure out,
32:55this is internally,
32:56who made the mistake.
32:57And that's what they did
32:58in Paitia Airport.
33:02Navy SEALs are part
33:04of Special Operations Command.
33:06Over 4,000 soldiers from this command
33:09participated in Just Cause,
33:11including members of Delta Force.
33:14The activities of this unit
33:16are so classified
33:17that their existence
33:18will not be officially confirmed
33:19by the U.S. military.
33:21Their rescue of an American citizen
33:24on that first night
33:25was one of the best-kept secrets
33:27of the war.
33:34Kurt Mews was an American
33:36who'd lived in Panama
33:37since he was five years old.
33:40He married his high school sweetheart,
33:42queen of the prom
33:43at a Panamanian high school.
33:46After completing
33:47a short tour of duty
33:48in the army,
33:49he settled down in Panama,
33:51working in the family business,
33:52selling graphics equipment.
33:55It was a comfortable life.
33:59The violence
34:01of General Noriega's regime
34:02began to affect Mews.
34:05In 1988,
34:07one of his close friends
34:08was arrested and murdered.
34:11Then,
34:12after his business
34:12printed flyers for demonstrators,
34:15PDF troops
34:16set fire to his shop.
34:19I had a couple of choices.
34:21Fight or flight.
34:22You either shut your mouth
34:24and just don't do anything,
34:26or get out of the country.
34:29Well,
34:30I decided to stay,
34:31and I decided
34:32to somehow fight
34:33this institution,
34:33this man.
34:36Mews and several
34:37Panamanian friends
34:38banded together
34:39to form what eventually
34:40became known
34:41as the Voice of Liberty.
34:43The identities of the members
34:44are obscured
34:45for their protection.
34:48Simple radio components
34:50were their weapons.
34:51Starting out with scanners,
34:53Mews and his friends
34:54listened in
34:54on police communications.
34:57They issued fake orders
34:59to confuse the PDF.
35:01They would also appeal
35:02to the conscience of soldiers,
35:03asking them to stop
35:05beating on fellow citizens.
35:08By mid-1988,
35:09they decided to go
35:10one step further
35:11and make radio broadcasts.
35:13They smuggled in
35:14electronic parts from Miami
35:16to override
35:17the government radio frequencies.
35:19For their initial broadcast,
35:21Mews and his group
35:22chose the occasion
35:23of a Noriega speech
35:24to the nation.
35:25Mews recorded the broadcast
35:27to audio tape
35:28and set up their transmitter.
35:30And the announcer says,
35:32Anna, we present to you
35:33General Manuel Antonio Noriega.
35:36And everybody starts cheering.
35:38And then at that very
35:39same moment,
35:40poof,
35:41we hit the transmit button.
35:45Atención.
35:46Atención, Pueblo Panameño.
35:48Atención.
35:49As a stunned audience listened,
35:50Noriega was interrupted
35:52by a two-minute broadcast,
35:54encouraging the people
35:55of Panama to vote against him
35:56in the upcoming elections.
36:00It was the most scary
36:04two minutes of my life.
36:07General Noriega
36:08was completely blindsided.
36:11Mews knew that he
36:12and the Voice of Liberty
36:13were now enemies of the state
36:15and that they would be hunted down.
36:18Transmitting,
36:19the Voice of Liberty.
36:23Mews and his group
36:24set up their transmitters
36:25in various apartments
36:27in the city
36:27and began broadcasting
36:29anti-Noriega messages.
36:31The whole opposition movement
36:33had been beaten
36:34and driven
36:35into the ground
36:36so badly
36:37that we were the only voice
36:38of opposition
36:40in the entire country.
36:44Señor mÃo,
36:45Jesucristo,
36:47guÃa nuestros pasos
36:48por el sendero
36:49que hoy hemos de recorrer.
36:52Protege a nuestro pueblo.
36:54Consuela a la madre
36:55de los desaparecidos.
36:56Da tu aliento
36:58a la esposa
36:59e hijos de los encarcelados.
37:01De dos millones
37:03de Panameños
37:03que clamamos por justicia.
37:05Although some claim
37:06that the group
37:07received strong CIA support,
37:10Mews says
37:10that they were only
37:11given a transmitter
37:12from the agency
37:13and that they built
37:14most of their equipment
37:15themselves.
37:16The PDF began
37:18using radio direction
37:19finding equipment
37:20to track these transmitters
37:21and catch those responsible.
37:23The Voice of Liberty
37:24played a dangerous
37:25cat and mouse game
37:26as they moved
37:27the transmitters around
37:28trying to stay
37:29ahead of the PDF.
37:31In early 1989,
37:33PDF troops
37:34stormed this building
37:36and burst into
37:36apartment 10C.
37:39Mews and his friends
37:39could hear the
37:40Panamanian officers
37:41talking over the radio.
37:44We heard the whole
37:45conversation between
37:46the major
37:47and the colonel.
37:48He went to the apartment
37:49and said the transmitter
37:50is not there
37:50and the colonel
37:51was furious.
37:52He said the transmitter
37:53is there,
37:54I know it.
37:54All of our direction
37:55said it is there,
37:56that is the apartment.
37:57Search under the bed,
37:59search in the stove,
38:00search everywhere.
38:01There's no transmitter.
38:03By some fluke
38:04of nature,
38:06their direction
38:07finding thing
38:08got upset
38:10by about
38:1110 yards.
38:12We were in fact
38:13in apartment 10C,
38:15but in the other
38:16twin tower.
38:19On the 5th of April,
38:201989,
38:21the game
38:22was over.
38:24Someone had
38:24tipped off
38:25the PDF
38:25about Mews
38:26while he was
38:27in Miami
38:27on another trip.
38:28He was going
38:29through customs
38:30at the airport
38:31when he saw
38:32himself
38:32on a wanted poster.
38:35It says,
38:36Kurt Mews,
38:37American citizen.
38:39Arrest him.
38:41Within minutes,
38:42he was surrounded
38:43by police
38:44and taken away.
38:47The clock stopped.
38:48The world stopped.
38:49It was like
38:50a silent scream.
38:52What do you do?
38:55After he was arrested,
38:56a man was beaten
38:57in front of him
38:57as a warning
38:58to cooperate.
39:01At one point,
39:02he was kept awake
39:03for three days
39:04as he was questioned.
39:06After they found
39:07his radio equipment,
39:08his interrogator
39:09pulled out a gun
39:10and threatened
39:10to kill him.
39:13Mews was placed
39:14in the
39:15Carcel Modelo
39:16prison,
39:16which was located
39:17near the
39:18Comandancia.
39:19His cell was barely
39:208 by 12 feet,
39:22his bed,
39:23a foam mat.
39:25He was an eyewitness
39:26to scenes
39:27he still can't forget.
39:30Hundreds of people
39:31were brought
39:32to my prison.
39:33They were the demonstrators.
39:35There was a
39:37young Panamanian
39:39and he was hoisted
39:40up onto the
39:42basketball hoop
39:42by his handcuffs
39:43and then beaten
39:45mercilessly.
39:46And he hung there
39:48just screaming
39:49for his life.
39:50I can tell you
39:51that there's no sound
39:52that is worse
39:54than the sound
39:54of a man being tortured.
39:57It's horrible.
39:59As tensions increased
40:00between Panama
40:01and the U.S.,
40:02Noriega called
40:03Mews a hostage.
40:05An executioner
40:06was put by his door
40:07in case U.S. troops
40:09attacked.
40:11He was almost
40:12kind of a cause
40:13celeb
40:14within,
40:15in Washington.
40:17He became,
40:18in effect,
40:19an agency asset
40:20that had to be rescued.
40:21He was then,
40:23I guess,
40:23a classic candidate
40:24for a Delta Force
40:26operation
40:26because that's
40:27what Delta Force
40:27does.
40:28Goes into very,
40:29very difficult places
40:30and rescues hostages
40:32or takes down terrorists.
40:34With the help
40:35of a model
40:36from the CIA,
40:37an exact replica
40:38of Modelo Prison
40:39was built in Florida.
40:42They conducted
40:43very, very detailed
40:44rehearsals
40:45of how they were
40:46going to enter
40:46into the prison
40:47before any of the guards
40:48had a chance
40:49to get to Kurt Mews
40:50and kill him.
40:51Delta Force
40:52even sent in
40:53their commandos
40:54ahead of time
40:54of the attack,
40:55dressed as civilians
40:56wearing Hawaiian shirts
40:58who wandered around
40:59the area
41:00where the prison was
41:01to scope it out.
41:04The bold rescue
41:05of Kurt Mews
41:06began just as
41:07the AC-130
41:08Spectre gunship
41:09began firing
41:10on the commandantia
41:11next door.
41:13As I was laying down
41:14on the ground,
41:16bits and pieces
41:17of concrete
41:18were flying in
41:19from next door,
41:20which was clear
41:21across the street,
41:22into my cell.
41:24The helicopter
41:25carrying Mews'
41:26rescue team
41:27landed on the
41:28prison roof.
41:30Delta Force members
41:31blew open the door
41:32and made their way
41:33to Mews' cell
41:34using combinations
41:35of stun grenades
41:36and pinpoint firing.
41:40I heard gunfire
41:41inside my prison.
41:43And then I heard
41:44more explosions.
41:45I heard rummishing
41:46gunfire,
41:47more explosions.
41:48And the hall
41:50filled with smoke.
41:52It smelled like war.
41:55Like I could see
41:56these little beams
41:57with white light
41:57sort of crisscrossing.
42:01I saw this figure
42:04that filled my cell door.
42:07And this fellow said,
42:08Moose,
42:10are you okay?
42:12And I said,
42:12yeah, I'm okay.
42:14He said,
42:14get down,
42:15I'm blowing the door.
42:16So I squinted on the ground,
42:18he blew the door,
42:20and he came running over to me
42:22and told me that he was
42:23there to take me home.
42:26As the Delta Force helicopter
42:28took off from the roof,
42:29it took heavy fire.
42:31It nearly crashed
42:32into the street.
42:33The pilot managed
42:35to keep it airborne,
42:36wound its way
42:37between the buildings
42:38and made a left turn.
42:40When the pilot
42:41tried to climb
42:41a second time,
42:42they were shot down.
42:45We exited this chopper,
42:47which was like
42:48a wounded animal.
42:49I mean,
42:49the blade
42:50was still going around
42:51and it was all,
42:52and all sort of charred,
42:54and every time
42:55the blade would go around,
42:56the helicopter
42:56would sort of jump.
42:59The rotor blade
43:00hit Muse's rescuer
43:01in the head.
43:02He went down,
43:03and so did Muse.
43:06My face was maybe
43:07three, four,
43:08five inches from his.
43:09He opens his eyes
43:10and he says,
43:11Muse,
43:11are you okay?
43:15This commando
43:16had been like
43:17resuscitated
43:18from the dead.
43:21Armored personnel carriers
43:22involved in the attack
43:23and the commandantia
43:24rolled in
43:25and saved
43:25the Delta Force team
43:27and Muse.
43:29His ordeal
43:30was finally over.
43:33Muse was flown
43:34to Washington
43:34to see his wife
43:35and children.
43:36They escaped
43:37from Panama
43:38after he was arrested.
43:40It had been
43:41nine months
43:41since they last saw him.
43:44It was snowing
43:45and the windows
43:47were all sort of
43:47a snowy look
43:48and they were sort of
43:49all peering,
43:50peering at the thing
43:50at me.
43:52And I came out
43:54of the snow
43:54and into their arms
43:56and we hugged
43:57for about 30 minutes
43:57with really no verbal
44:01communication,
44:01just hugging.
44:03And I went home.
44:06It was five days
44:08before Christmas.
44:10My wife had hung
44:11my stocking
44:12by the fireplace.
44:13so it was there.
44:16And it was the best
44:17Christmas of
44:20my life.
44:24Just as Delta Force
44:26freed Kurt Mews
44:27in the opening moments
44:28of Just Cause,
44:29they were involved
44:30in another operation.
44:32This was not a rescue.
44:34It was a manhunt
44:35for Mews' jailer.
44:46Before Delta Force
44:48landed on the roof
44:49of Modelo prison
44:50to rescue Kurt Mews,
44:52special operation
44:53helicopters
44:53battled Panamanian
44:55soldiers
44:55in the surrounding
44:56buildings
44:57of the Comandantia.
44:58Victor Casanova
45:00was one of them.
45:04We began to shoot
45:05at them.
45:06That they,
45:07well,
45:07it looked like a scene
45:08from Star Wars.
45:09Lights everywhere,
45:10green lights,
45:11red lights,
45:12that emanated
45:13from the helicopters
45:14that were coming
45:15from different points.
45:16And from our side,
45:17all you could see
45:18were the tracers
45:19from here.
45:21During the invasion,
45:23the PDF and
45:24Dignity battalions
45:25were completely
45:25overwhelmed,
45:27outnumbered,
45:27and outgunned.
45:31If it could be said
45:33that we lost,
45:34we lost.
45:35There is no...
45:36We knew that we
45:37were going to lose
45:38from the beginning
45:39because it was
45:40the first highest
45:40superpower.
45:41There was no doubt
45:42about that on our side.
45:46The biggest worry
45:47of the Americans
45:48that the PDF
45:49would escape
45:49into the jungle
45:50and wage a protracted
45:52guerrilla war
45:52would never happen.
46:00Southcombe expected
46:01the war
46:01to be one-sided.
46:03However,
46:04they didn't expect
46:05General Noriega
46:06to escape.
46:09The second important
46:11mission for Delta Force,
46:12besides rescuing
46:13Kurt Meuse,
46:14was to try
46:15to capture
46:16Manuel Noriega.
46:17They kept
46:18elaborate logbooks
46:20on him,
46:20elaborate surveillance
46:21charts on him
46:22to try and predict
46:23where he would be
46:24when we attacked.
46:27On the day
46:28of the invasion,
46:29Southcombe lost
46:30track of Noriega.
46:31By constantly
46:32switching vehicles
46:33and staying on the move,
46:35he escaped
46:36those who were
46:36tracking him.
46:38Ironically,
46:39he placed himself
46:40in the path
46:41of more American troops
46:42by staying
46:43at Torrio's
46:43Tokumen Airport
46:44on the night
46:45of December 19th.
46:49It was a major target
46:51for Army Rangers.
46:52As they landed,
46:54Noriega's bodyguards
46:55rushed him
46:55out of the area.
46:58The Rangers
46:59barely missed him.
47:01And it was
47:02a bitter disappointment
47:03for the Pentagon
47:04and the Special
47:05Operations Command
47:06when in the first
47:07few hours
47:08they could not
47:09find Noriega.
47:11Both Delta Force
47:12and Navy SEAL members
47:13scoured the country
47:14looking for him.
47:16Noriega and his bodyguards
47:17hid in several homes,
47:19traveling as little
47:20as possible.
47:22Noriega was eventually
47:23cornered
47:24in the Vatican Embassy.
47:25The world watched
47:26and waited.
47:28After about a week,
47:30the Panamanian people
47:30started gathering
47:31around the Nunchatura
47:32in a big cordon
47:34of chanting
47:35and they wanted
47:35to lynch Noriega.
47:43Major General Cisneros
47:45called a meeting
47:46with Monsignor La Boa,
47:47the papal ambassador.
47:49He told La Boa
47:50that he could guarantee
47:51his safety
47:52but not Noriega.
47:55And I want you to know
47:56that if they break
47:57and can try to come in here
47:58and lynch Noriega,
47:59I'm not going to harm
48:00a Panamanian
48:01in order to protect Noriega.
48:03As soon as I told
48:04the Nunchal that,
48:05you could see his eyes
48:06light up.
48:08He went across
48:09to the street,
48:10went directly to Noriega
48:11and he told Noriega,
48:12the same thing
48:13that happened
48:14to Benito Mussolini
48:15is going to happen
48:15to you.
48:16That crowd
48:16is going to come in here
48:17and lynch you.
48:18And that scared him.
48:19He immediately agreed
48:20to come on out.
48:23General Noriega
48:24was brought by helicopter
48:25to a waiting airplane.
48:33Operation Just Cause
48:43The U.S. invasion
48:44was the single
48:45bloodiest event
48:46in the history of Panama.
48:48Twenty-three American soldiers
48:50lost their lives.
48:52Hundreds of Panamanians
48:54were killed.
48:56Fires in the neighborhood
48:57surrounding the Comandancia
48:58left over 15,000
49:00without homes.
49:05I think that after nine years,
49:07many of the people
49:08who went out
49:09to applaud the invasion
49:10now think it over.
49:12And they realize
49:13that there was nothing
49:14to applaud.
49:16Because what the invasion
49:17brought about
49:17was death
49:18and destruction.
49:29Despite fighting
49:30a controversial war,
49:31Panama and the U.S.
49:33will always be bound together
49:34by treaties
49:36and a long history.
49:40Panama had been
49:41a natural ally
49:42and a friend
49:43of the United States.
49:44We had our ups and downs
49:46during the time
49:47in 1903
49:48until 1999.
49:50But again,
49:51when you have a friend,
49:52you're willing to
49:53forgive and forget.
49:55The lasting legacy
49:57of this war
49:57is found in the
49:58controversial name
49:59of the invasion.
50:02Operation Just Cause.
50:04I think it was just.
50:05I think it was
50:06the right thing to do.
50:07Nor'er had lost control.
50:09He was creating
50:09a terrorist regime.
50:11The situation was dangerous.
50:13We acted in self-defense.
50:16Was it Just Cause?
50:20Was it sufficient reason
50:22to kill the number
50:24of people that killed
50:25U.S.
50:26and Panamanian?
50:29You be the judge.
50:31status?
50:41Do you suppose
50:43about Maya?
50:53Do you suppose
50:53for the world
50:53or the world
50:53and you cannot
50:53deal with
50:54for the battlefield?
50:54Do you,
51:00Do you suppose
51:00that I'm not
51:00yeah it was
51:00that you
51:29Transcription by CastingWords
51:56CastingWords
52:00CastingWords
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