One of those rebellions occurred in Panama in 1968. It was then that Omar Torrijos unseated a U.S. puppet and proceeded to change the country's economy to help Panama's long-disadvantaged lower classes. He also pressed the United States to cede ownership and control of the Panama Canal to Panamanians instead of the United States. That happened in 1999.
For his efforts, Torrijos was classified by the United States as a "dictator." Still, because he was so popular with the Panamanian majority, that he managed to remain in power till 1981 when he was killed in a plane "accident." Insiders like John Perkins say the tragedy was engineered by the U.S. government. Perkins should know. He secretly worked for U.S. intelligence agencies (linked to the CIA) specifically charged with thwarting democratic tendencies in Latin America. His work assured continued United States control in places such as Panama. Conveniently, all CIA records about the Torrijos' crash have somehow been "lost."
Torrijos was succeeded by a long-time CIA asset called Manuel Noriega reputedly connected to the Torrijos plane crash as well as to Panama's flourishing drug trade. But strangely, once in power, Noriega continued his predecessor's programs aiding Panama's poorest.
Noriega remained in power from 1983 to 1991. At that time, the United States decided Noriega had outlived his usefulness. So, he was reclassified from CIA asset and ally to a hideous drug dealer whose regime needed changing.
But how did the U.S remove Noriega from power? In the middle of the night, they bombed an entire neighborhood of Panama's poorest who had benefitted from the Torrijos reforms. The barrio is called El Chorillo. According to non-governmental sources, the bombing killed at least 2000 mostly brown and black people (some say as many as 10,000) and created 15,000 homeless refugees - all, they alleged, in order to remove one man from power. Critics however say it was also intended to clear the slum area for gentrified housing developments and to test new weapons systems on live people.
In any case, the post 1989 "new order" in Panama restored to power the usual suspects (white affluent businessmen) who returned to the United States de facto control of the Panama Canal.
Just this morning on "Democracy Now," Ce'sar Ochoa, a Panamanian union leader leading recent protests of construction workers in the city of Santiago de Veraguas, put it this way, "After the 1989 invasion, when the gringos intervened in our nation, from that moment, the alleged democracy was installed in our state. But it's a democracy that robs the poor to feed the rich. It's a democracy that has been ruining the lives of all Panamanians."
Chief among the businesses robbing Panama's poor is Chiquita Banana (formerly called United Brands and United Fruit). Founded in Boston in 1870, it has controlled (exploited) Central America ever since. In fact, throughout Central America Chiquita is referred to as "the Octopus," because in all the "Banana Republics" (Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Panama) the firm has its hands in everything. It controls who's elected president and how long presidents remain in power. It controls wages, the living conditions of its workers, education, health care, etc. Remember all of that the next time you eat a banana.
Panama is also a center of high finance. It has become an infamous tax haven for businesses from all over the world. This means that such firms can avoid paying taxes at home by "legally" setting up fictitious offices (often mere post-office boxes) as their headquarters in Panama. All of that was confirmed in 2016 by the publication of "The Panama Papers" detailing widespread crime, corruption, and wrongdoing by Panamanians and outside investors backed by the U.S. government.
There's so much more to say about all of this, dear Eva. But this will have to do for now. If you want more, you should read John Perkins' Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, and/ or The American Trajectory Divine or Demonic? by Process Theology's David Ray Griffin (pages 328-332), and/or Jonathan Katz's Gangsters of Capitalism.
With all of this in mind, as you get the opportunity, please ask your teachers and guides in Panama about these matters. You might also share these insights with any friends you happen to make there in your Amigos group.
But I'll bet you this: even the leaders of your adventure probably won't know this story in as much detail as I've shared with you. Panama's history (and history in general) is way more complicated and shocking than our "teachers" are willing to admit.
They'll never tell you that "our" wealth has been based on the transfer of resources from the world's non-white poor to the coffers of largely white bankers and businessmen. They'll never admit that the United States has been an unrelenting force for evil and oppression in the Global South. They'll never tell you the unvarnished history of countries like Panama.
But now you know the rest of the story. You're now in position to employ your sharp research skills to first of all check out the veracity of what I've shared here. Then having done so, you can ask questions and weigh the "experts'" responses.
Needless to say, I look forward to our discussing all of this and your experience when you return home in a couple of weeks.
Till then, have a great time in Panama. Make friends. Keep your eyes open. And if you can, visit El Chorillo. That would be much more interesting than the tour I'm sure they have planned for you.
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