Word: strongman
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Covert operations are supposed to be secret. But last week, word that George Bush had authorized a $3 million covert plan to topple Panamanian strongman Manuel Antonio Noriega leaked out before the operation even got under way. The Los Angeles Times reported that Bush had authorized the CIA to recruit members of the Panamanian Defense Forces for an anti-Noriega revolt. In a change of policy, the Bush plan reportedly authorizes a coup even if Noriega is accidentally killed. Asked about the report, Bush said, "It wouldn't be covert if I even referred...
...continuing exchange of recriminations about the failed coup against Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega, the Bush Administration last week loudly accused Congress of trying to micromanage intelligence matters. At the same time, however, a National Security Council review indicates that if anyone was micromanaging, it was the President, who picked up some unhealthy habits during his year as President Ford's CIA director...
That credulity-stretching scenario was among the fresh revelations that spilled out last week in Washington during recriminations over the botched rebellion against Panamanian strongman Manuel Antonio Noriega. Those most to blame for the coup's collapse seemed to be the brave but muddled men who staged it. But congressional critics from both parties lambasted George Bush for failing to dispatch American troops to snatch the dictator and spirit him back to the U.S., where he is wanted on drug-trafficking charges. The White House in turn scolded Congress for trying to micromanage a fast-moving crisis and for hypocritically...
...Panama City and disgorged armed troops at the headquarters of the Panama Defense Forces. The soldiers joined 200 others stationed there, and gunfire soon erupted inside and outside the building. Within 90 minutes, the rebels had seized the Comandancia, as it is known locally, and trapped Panamanian strongman Manuel Antonio Noriega in a small part of the compound. At 11:30, the insurgents issued a statement on national radio proclaiming their coup a success...
...democratic ferment; nine Latin American nations have held or are scheduled to hold free elections in 1989. For the first time in memory, there is reason to hope that the doddering Communist Party boss in his shapeless dark suit may be as much an anachronism as the strutting military strongman with his chestful of ersatz ribbons...