Panamanians To Mark Invasion Anniversary

Six years after U.S. troops overthrew dictator Manuel Noriega, relatives of Panamanians killed in the invasion plan to mark the anniversary today with a candlelight vigil outside the U.S. Embassy.

On Tuesday, the government declared the anniversary a day of “national mourning.” President Ernesto Perez Balladares urged his countrymen “to dedicate a moment of meditation in memory of those who lost their lives.”

The invasion on Dec. 21, 1989, ended Noriega’s oppressive rule, but many Panamanians complain about the cost in lives and national dignity. Noriega is imprisoned in the United States, serving a 40-year drug sentence.

The official death toll is 373 soldiers and civilians, but human rights groups say 385 people were killed. Families of the dead say the toll reached 1,000, but searchers have failed to find their bodies.