Panama 1989 is not a good model for dealing with Venezuela

Photo caption: Flames engulf a building following the outbreak of hostilities between the Panamanian Defense Force and U.S. forces during Operation Just Cause – December 21, 1989. Photo credit: SPEC. MORLAND via Wikimedia. Public Domain. Article by Cristina Guevara. The Hill – October 2, 2025.

Washington’s 1989 invasion of Panama is often invoked as a model for dealing with Nicolás Maduro today. But the analogy goes only so far. In Panama, U.S. forces were already stationed in the Canal Zone. The strategic artery was U.S.-controlled. Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, although powerful, led a relatively small military rather than the state itself, which made his removal more straightforward. […]

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