Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno was a Panamanian politician and military officer who was the de facto ruler of Panama from 1983 to 1989. He never actually served as president of Panama,instead ruling as an unelected military dictator through puppet presidents. Amassing a personal fortune through drug trafficking operations by the Panamanian military,Noriega had longstanding ties with American intelligence agencies before the U.S. invasion of Panama removed him from power.
Omar Efraín Torrijos Herrera was a Panamanian military leader of Panama,as well as the Commander of the Panamanian National Guard from 1968 to his death in 1981. Torrijos was never officially the president of Panama,but instead held self-imposed and all-encompassing titles including "Maximum Leader of the Panamanian Revolution". Torrijos took power in a coup d'état and instituted a number of social reforms.
Guillermo David Endara Galimany was a Panamanian politician who served as the president of Panama from 1989 to 1994. Raised in a family allied to Panameñista Party founder Arnulfo Arias,Endara attended school in exile in the United States and Argentina following Arias's removal from power. Endara later received a law degree in Panama. He subsequently served as a member of Panama's National Assembly,and briefly as a government minister before heading into exile again following Arias' third overthrow.
Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Berrocal is a Panamanian politician and businessman who served as the 36th President of Panama from 2009 to 2014.
Roberto Díaz Herrera is a Panamanian colonel under General Manuel Noriega and was most famous for his public denunciation of the Panamanian dictator in 1987,at the behest of Sathya Sai Baba,an Indian Guru who never set foot on the American soil. After Noriega placed him under house arrest,Colonel Díaz received significant support from the Panamanian people,with many passing by his house in cars to shake his hand. He was imprisoned shortly thereafter and eventually given political asylum in Venezuela. After spending 11 years of exile in various Latin American countries,Díaz returned to Panama. Diaz Herrera also ran for the presidency with a minor political party,PNP,from 1996 to 1998,but lost to a larger political party. In 2004,he was chosen by the newly elected Panamanian president,Martín Torrijos,to be the country's ambassador to Peru.
Nicolás Ardito Barletta Vallarino is a Panamanian politician,served as its 26th President of Panama from 11 October 1984 to 28 September 1985,running as the candidate of the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) in the contested elections of 1984.
Arístides Royo Sánchez is a Panamanian politician who was 23rd President of Panama from October 11,1978 to July 31,1982,when he was pressured to resign by the military. He is currently the Minister of Canal Affairs.
The National Bank of Panama (BNP) is one of two Panamanian government-owned banks. As of January 2009,it held deposits of about US$5 billion. The other government-owned bank is Caja de Ahorros de Panamá,with about US$1 billion in total deposits.
The Panama Defense Forces (Spanish:Fuerzas de Defensa de Panamá;FFDD),formerly the National Guard (of Panama) (Spanish:Guardia Nacional),were the armed forces of the Republic of Panama.
Balbina Del Carmen Herrera Araúz is a Panamanian politician and presidential candidate in the 2009 Panamanian general election. On May 3,2009,she lost the race to the presidency of the Republic of Panama to center-right candidate Ricardo Martinelli.
Panama is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America
General elections were held in Panama on 6 May 1984,electing both a new President of the Republic and a new Legislative Assembly.
Indirect presidential elections were held in Panama on 11 October 1978,electing a new President of the Republic.
La Prensa is a conservative Panamanian newspaper founded in 1980. Established by I. Roberto Eisenmann Jr. during a period of military dictatorship,La Prensa built an international reputation as an independent nationalist voice,and has been described by some admirers as "Panama's leading opposition newspaper" and its newspaper of record.
Bernardino González Ruíz was a Panamanian politician and physician. He served as the President of Panama for six days from 17 to 23 March 1963. He was also the founder of the Democratic Action Party,a conservative Panamanian political party.
Ithiel Roberto Eisenmann Field Jr. is a Panamanian journalist of Israeli descent known for founding and heading La Prensa,a leading daily newspaper described as Panama's newspaper of record.
Ricardo Arias Calderón was a Panamanian politician who served as First Vice President from 1989 to 1992. A Catholic who studied at Yale and the Sorbonne,Arias returned to Panama in the 1960s to work for political reform. He went on to become the president of the Christian Democratic Party of Panama and a leading opponent of the military government of Manuel Noriega. In 1984,he ran as a candidate for Second Vice President on the ticket of three-time former president Arnulfo Arias,but they were defeated by pro-Noriega candidate Nicolás Ardito Barletta.
The nations of Mexico and Panama established diplomatic relations in 1904. Both nations are mutual members of the Association of Caribbean States,Community of Latin American and Caribbean States,Latin American Integration Association,Organization of Ibero-American States and the Organization of American States.
The Panama Truth Commission was appointed by Panamanian president Mireya Moscoso in 2000 to investigate crimes committed under the military rule of Omar Torrijos and Manuel Noriega.
The 1989 Panamanian coup d'état attempt was a failed coup d'état which occurred in Panama City on 3 October. The attempt was led by Major Moisés Giroldi,supported by a group of officers who had returned from a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Namibia. Although the plotters succeeded in capturing Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega,the coup was quickly suppressed. Giroldi,together with nine other members of the Panamanian Defense Forces,was executed on 3 and 4 October 1989. An eleventh participant died in prison after being tortured. These events became known as the "Albrook massacre".
