On December 20, 1989, over 27,000 soldiers participated in Operation Just Cause: Panama. Simultaneously, Airborne Rangers, paratroopers, infantry men, Marines, Navy Seals, and light tank units joined to protect the 35,000 U.S. citizens, including 15,000 military dependents, to ensure the safe operation of the Panama Canal and to support the democratic institutions in Panama.
For the first time since opening, the Panama Canal was closed for one day on December 20, 1989. Operation Just Cause, a highly complex military mission ousted “a reign of terror by drug lords” and established the newly elected democratic government in Panama.
Date: January 3, 1990
Source: XVIII Airborne Corps History Office photograph, by Maj. R. Wright.
Comment: Fort Amador, Panama. Tomb of Omar Torrijos. As required by the operations plan, this monument was not damaged during the December 20, 1989 assault. View is looking south.