Panama to identify victims of 1989 US invasion

The government of Panama on Wednesday launched an independent commission to identify people killed or missing in the 1989 US invasion of the country that brought down dictator Manuel Noriega.

"There can be no reconciliation if the truth is not known," Panama's vice president and foreign minister, Isabel De Saint Malo, said.

"Panama is seeking to heal its wounds," she added, speaking to a gathering of officials, religious leaders, some who lost kin or property in the invasion, and the UN representative to Panama.

There have been insistent calls in Panama for compensation from the US for the deaths and damage wrought in the invasion.

While the Panamanian government has not officially backed those demands, it has for the past two years pressed for a "reconciliation" effort.

President Juan Carlos Varela signed the decree on Tuesday creating the new independent panel, which is to be made up of five members with backgrounds in human rights.

Its formal name is the "Commission of December 20, 1989."

That is the date the United States sent 27,000 soldiers to Panama, resulting in the capture of Noriega, a former CIA collaborator who was wanted in the US on drug trafficking charges.

The former dictator spent time behind bars in America and in France, and is currently imprisoned in Panama for ordering the disappearance of dissidents during his 1983-1989 rule.

Many Panamanians welcomed the end of Noriega's reign, but believe the United States should make up for the other consequences of its military incursion.

Officially, the US Defense Department recorded some 500 deaths in the invasion. But other organizations put the toll at a several thousand.

Thousands of people lost their homes and many businesses were destroyed.

The US ambassador to Panama, John Feely, in February said his country was willing to participate in the reconciliation process and look at providing any help requested by the Panamanian government.