Panama Deception

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The “Panama Deception,” directed by Barbara Trent of the Empowerment Project and narrated by actress Elizabeth Montgomery, observes a distinct failure to implement 20th-century democracy in Latin America in the late '80s and early '90s. More specifically, the film documents the U.S. invasion of Panama under "Operation Just Cause” during this period, showing how the cause was anything but just. Rather, the film shows how the Operation intended to impose a biased renegotiation of the aforementioned treaties. Released on July 31, 1992, the two-year film production was meticulously researched, yet laid out simply and forcefully the case against the US government story, and won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature as a result. Made all the more timely by the recent war on terrorism (or errorism, as I like to call it), the “Panama Deception” shows how the U.S. killed between 3,000 to 4,000 people over the course of an invasion that the rest of the world was against (a theme duplicated in the War on Iraq and others prior to then Panama invasion). Years before the United States went after Saddam Hussein, the White House had General Manuel Noriega, who had been on the CIA’s payroll over the 20 years prior to the invasion, in its sights. Noriega was actually taken off the CIA payroll by President Jimmy Carter's CIA Director Mansfield Turner back in 1978, but immediately put back on the CIA payroll by the Reagan Adminstration at double Mansfield’s salary. Placed at the head of the CIA to do the government’s bidding, Noriega was basically manipulated into becoming a tyrannical arms and drug kingpin. Under the Bush administration, Noreiga’s orders to organize drug trafficking and support the Nicaraguan Sandinista rebels ensured ... ... middle of paper ... ... Cited The Panama Deception. (n.d.). IMDb. Retrieved May 4, 2014, from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105089/?ref_=ttmd_md_nm The Empowerment Project::The Panama Deception. (n.d.). The Empowerment Project::The Panama Deception. Retrieved May 4, 2014, from http://www.empowermentproject.org/pages/panama.html Hinson, H. (1992, October 17). ‘The Panama Deception’ (NR). Washington Post. Retrieved May 4, 2014, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/thepanamadeceptionnrhinson_a0a7bd.htm Canby, V. (1992, October 23). The Panama Deception (1992) Reviews/Film; Invasion of Panama: Rooting Out the Reason. . Retrieved May 4, 2014, from http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9E0CE1DA113EF930A15753C1A964958260 Burns, E. B., & Charlip, J. A. (2007). Latin America: an interpretive history (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall.

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