Relatives gather to remember the dead from US invasion
Relatives of those who died during the US invasion of Panama on December 20, 1989, as well as national authorities, gathered in In the Jardín de Paz cemetery, located in Parque Lefevre, on Wednesday to mark the 34th anniversary
Among them were the ministers Juan Manuel Pino (Public Security), Augusto Valderrama (Agricultural Development), Doris Zapata (Labor), Janaina Tewaney (Foreign Relations), and Jorge Rivera Staff (Commerce and Industries).
Rolando Murgas president of the December 20, 1989, Commission, which was created in 2016 to clarify the facts surrounding the United States invasion of Panama in 1989, said that one of the pending tasks they have is to give identity to the corpses of those who fell at that time. “There are 41 remains, of which one was identified by DNA. The others are in the process,” he added.
Brenda Bethancourt, daughter of Braulio Bethancourt (one of the victims of the military intervention), said that they are grateful that December 20 of each year has been declared a day of national mourning but stated that – even though 34 years have passed since the US invasion – there are still pending issues to be addressed. Bethancourt specifically noted that this process of recognition of the victims of the invasion should have already been completed. “We should have peace, which we still don’t have,” she said.
On March 31, 2022, President, Laurentino Cortizo, sanctioned the law that adopts national awareness measures regarding December 20, 1989. The norm establishes that date as a day of national mourning and mandatory rest, as a recognition of the victims. With the law, the national flag will be flown at half-mast throughout the national territory and the transmission and projection of loud music is prohibited on all radio and television media, state and private, and the sale, of alcoholic beverages throughout the national territory, is banned.
