Bloody event 33 years ago led to Panama invasion

33 years have passed since May 10, 1989, when the Dignity Battalions, a paramilitary group at the service of the Noriega dictatorship brutally attacked members of the Democratic Alliance of Civilist Opposition (Adoc), who in a peaceful march asked for recognition of their  electoral victory

The repression and the attack continue in the memory of men and women who fought against the dictatorship says La Prensa

They consider it a black day, which could even be repeated if the country’s course is not corrected says Guillermo Ford Jr., who remembers his father Guillermo “Billy” Ford with a bloody shirt, after the attack by the battalion men. An iconic photo of the event, published in Time magazine, went around the world, and warned about the characteristics and effects of the dictatorship in Panama.

The son wants to keep the event alive as a “wake-up call” so that it does not happen again, as it is important that citizens remember their history and understand that “if we are not in the continuous fight for democracy, they can do the same again”.

The country, according to Ford Jr., is falling into episodes of “restlessness”, as political figures use the tools of democracy “to take advantage”. They are violating the rights of citizens and taking advantage of the treasury. “They use tricks to see how they can seize tax money and at the end of the road, this has repercussions in more poverty, more needs. The only way to turn the tide is to do things right…”

PRD rejected
On May 7, 1989, in a general election, 64% of the electorate rejected Carlos Duque Jaén, who was the PRD candidate and responded to the interests of the Panamanian Defense Forces, led by Noriega. On May 10, the Adoc, which brought together, civil society, and supported the presidential candidacy of Guillermo Endara, Ricardo Arias Calderón, and Guillermo Billy Ford, the latter as vice presidents, took to the streets to reject the decision of the Electoral Tribunal to annul the results and to warn of fraud.

 the capital, a caravan was convened towards the Presidency but the group was intercepted in Santa Ana by the Dignity Battalions.

They suppressed. The battalionistas beat the demonstrators with rods including the civilist trio. Endara faced the mob and received a rod; Ford’s bodyguards tried to put him in a car, but one of them was shot and his blood spilled on Ford’s white shirt.

This situation further exposed the regime, which was already faltering. The violence lasted several days and culminated in the United States’ invasion of Panama on December 20, 1989.