A message from the Palacio de las Garzas (Headquarters of the Executive) ensures that activities to mark the National Day of Mourning will begin with a visit to the Jardín de Paz Cemetery in that capital to commemorate the victims of the disaster attack on December 20, 1989.
The record also contains a religious invocation of the Archbishop of Panama, Monsignor José Domingo Ulloa.
Also speaking will be Trinidad Ayola, President of the Association of Fallen Relatives, and the new Chair of the December 20 Commission, Rolando Murgas; while the President of the Republic, Laurentino Cortizo, will address the nation.
Regarding this event, lawyer Gilma Camargo told the newspaper La Estrella de Panamá that after years of consequences due to inaction and obstruction by the United States, an assessment should be launched that includes compensation for the victims.
Historians estimate that the so-called just cause, whose ostensible goals were to end the supposed dictatorship, capture former general Manuel Antonio Noriega, restore democracy, and bring prosperity to the people, actually brought death to the martyred district of El has chorillo.
In addition to human casualties, this invasion caused the destruction of much of Panama’s infrastructure, leaving thousands of people homeless, forcing them to flee their homes and seek refuge in other areas.
Although the capital was hardest hit by this war effort, there were also casualties in the Caribbean province of Colón and Río Hato, areas that were indiscriminately bombed and burned.
The high number of homes and buildings destroyed by the invasion shows that Pentagon forces have made not the slightest effort to confine themselves to military targets and avoid damage to the lives and property of Panamanian civilians.
For social activists, the invasion has not received the international condemnation it deserves, although a 2018 report by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights condemned Washington for the violations committed and urged its government to compensate the victims.
jha/ga