The Panama Truth Commission was appointed by Panamanian president Mireya Moscoso in 2000 to investigate crimes committed under the military rule of Omar Torrijos and Manuel Noriega.
In December 2000, human remains were discovered at a Panamanian National Guard base, incorrectly believed to be those of Jesús Héctor Gallego Herrera, a priest murdered during the Torrijos dictatorship.
The report concluded that the Noriega government had engaged in "torture [and] cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment", and recommended further exhumation and investigation.
[3] The reasoning behind the Panamanian Truth commission was to hold the dictator General Manuel Antonio Noriega accountable for his abuses of human rights as well as his involvement in drug trafficking and money laundering.
Some Panamanians believe that the United States should be held responsible for Noriega’s regime and that they should be liable for the outcomes of the Panama Truth Commission.
One event in 1971 had President Richard Nixon requesting that Noriega travel to Havana, Cuba on behalf of the US to obtain two American ships that had been seized by Fidel Castro's government.
[4] The following year the dictatorial regime, due to a previous agreement with the United States before signing the Canal Treaties held a national election to appoint a president.
At the time of this election Noriega was suspected of money laundering, gun trafficking, torture, murder and selling US intelligence to Cuba and Easter European governments.
When approached by the US, Noriega denied all allegations and blaming US politicians of trying to undermine the Panama Canal treaties before its return to Panamanian control in December 1999.
His response to these protests was to declare a national emergency, which suspended all constitutional rights, close newspapers and radio stations and exile his political enemies.
Under President Ronald Reagan's administration, the US terminated all economic and military assistance and encouraged Panamanian bankers to cut support funding as well.
The US even sent Assistant Secretary of State Elliot Abrams to Panama to discuss plans with President Eric Del Valle to fire Noriega.
[4] After the contested election, President Bush sent in US forces to overthrow Noriega on the grounds that hostile acts were performed against US military personnel.
It was established on January 18, 2001 by President Mireya Moscoso with a mandate to investigate human rights violations between 1968 and 1989, the years of rule by Torrijos and Noriega.
A major aspect of the commission's work was investigating clandestine grave sites, establishing the identity of victims and determining the circumstances of their deaths.
Other sites included the Tocumen military airport, the houses occupied by Panamanian Air Force pilots, the old Los Pumas infantry barracks and firing range in Tocumen, the old cavalry base in Panama Viejo, the Joyita prison in Pacova and at houses used by secret police and other security units used for interrogation and torture.
[3] Other well-known people that were found to be victims of torture included Dora Moreno, Hipólito Quintero, Floyd Britton, Encarnación González and Hugo Spadofora.
These types of files have proven to be invaluable when understanding dictatorships in other countries like El Salvador, Chile and Guatemala and the role that the US played in backing them.
In April 2010, the US decided to extradite Noriega to France where he was charged for money laundering, convicted in 1999, and sentenced to serve thirty years.
[10] As a way to commemorate the twenty-fifth anniversary President Juan Carlos Varela announced the creation of a commission to investigate the deaths and disappearances during Operation Just Cause.