Operation Just Cause: Panama Invasion (1989)
President George H.W. Bush invaded Panama with 26,000 troops to depose General Manuel Noriega, who was wanted for drug trafficking. The operation succeeded militarily—all 27 objectives completed on D-Day. But 200-300 combatants and 300+ civilians died. Latin American nations condemned it as yanqui intervention.
Noriega captured and extradited; opposition candidate Guillermo Endara installed as president.
Panama democratized but drug trafficking through the country continued. Set precedent for post-Cold War U.S. interventions with fewer international constraints.
Trump's Venezuela operation follows similar playbook—drug trafficking justification, military pressure, regime change objective—but targets a larger country with organized armed resistance and great power backing from Russia and China.