| CPT Francisco Alvarez | 1977, Training Management Course 1976, Special Mortar Course |
Attempted coup, 1988: Supported a failed 1988 coup attempt; then escaped to Miami with a group fleeing from the failed 1989 coup attempt. (NYT, 10/11/89) |
| CPT Juan Jose Arza Aguilera | 1979, Small Unit Administration & Instruction | Attempted coup, 1989: Arza Aguilera supported Moisés Giroldi's October 1989 coup attempt against Noriega. He was murdered when the coup failed. (La Prensa, Panama) |
| CPT Francisco Avila | 1983, Commando Operations Course | Murder, 1989: One of eight soldiers implicated in the murder of nine other soldiers who participated in a failed coup against Noriega. Avila is deceased. (La Prensa, Panama) |
| CPT Jesús Balma | 1979, Infantry Tactics | Attempted coup, 1989: As then-chief of Panamanian special forces, Balma was one of 3 key young officers (all SOA graduates) who supported Moisés Giroldi's failed October 1989 coup attempt, (NYT, 10/4/89) |
| CPT Jorge Bonilla Arboleda | 1983, Administration/Instruction course | Attempted coup, 1989: Supported Moisés Giroldi's October 1989 coup attempt, and was subsequently murdered. (La Prensa, Panama) |
| 1LT Felipe Camargo | 1982, Combat Arms Officer Advanced Course | Gunrunning, 1978-79: Noriega put him in charge of a gunrunning operation that funnelled arms from Cuba through Panama and Costa Rica to the Sandinistas in Nicaragua. Camargo was imprisoned following the Panama invasion. (OMIP) |
| LTC Elías Castillo | 1973, Command and Unit Staff Course 1965, Counterinsurgency Operations 1964, Jungle Operations |
Noriega's chief of military operations, he was a member of Noriega's "inner circle." Dinges describes him as "the tough professional with little appetite for politics." (OMIP) |
| COL Armando Contreras | 1962, Counterinsurgency Operations 1958, Military Police Orientation |
Barracks coup, 1982: With Noriega, Paredes and Díaz Herrera, carried out a nonviolent barracks coup against National Guard chief Florencio Florez. (OMIP) |
| SGT Aristides Cordoba | 1981, Patrol Operations Course | Murder, 1989: Cordoba went on trial on June 5, 1995 for the murder of nine soldiers who attempted a coup against Noriega in October 1989. (La Prensa, Panama) |
| MAJ Luis Córdoba | 1986, Administration Course 1978, Combat Arms Officer Advanced Course 1974, Military Intelligence Officer Course |
Assassination, 1986: Implicated in the 1985 assassination (and decapitation) of Hugo Spadafora, long-time rival of Noriega. On September 13, 1985. the day before Spadafora's decapitated body was found on the Costa Rican border (an area under Córdoba's command), the U.S. intercepted a call Córdoba made to Noriega. Córdoba said, "We have the rabid dog." Noriega is said to have responded, 'What do you do with a rabid dog?' (OMIP) Córdoba attended the School of the Americas at Fort Benning the following August. (LL) |
| CPT Luis Del Cid | 1965, Jungle Operations | Drug Trafficking: One of Noriega's codefendants in the Miami indictment issued February 5, 1988 under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). (OMIP) |
| CPT Mario Del Cid | 1980, Training Management Course 1976, Special Mortar Course |
Assassination, 1986: Díaz Herrera (below) claimed that Del Cid, then an aide to Major Córdoba (above), was involved in the macabre murder of Hugo Spadafora. (OMIP) |
| COL Roberto Díaz Herrera | 1961, Infantry Arms and Tactics | Barracks coup, 1982: With Noriega, Rubén Darío Paredes, and Contreras, nonviolent ousted Florencio Flores as commander of Panamanian National Guard. Díaz Herrera also accompanied Paredes when he forced the resignation of President Aristides Royo. In 1987, when Noriega reneged on promises made to Díaz Herrera upon his (forced) retirement, Díaz went to the Panamanian press, giving hours of rambling interviews covering just about every dirty deal that he and Noriega were involved in. Days of rioting ensued. He was eventually arrested and exiled to Venezuela. (OMIP) |
| CPT Asunción Gaitan Rios | 1981, Infantry Officer Course 1980, Small Unit Administration and Instruction |
Murder, 1989: One of 8 soldiers who went on trial in Panama on June 5, 1995 for the murder of 9 soldiers following a failed coup attempt in October 1989. Gaitan is a fugitive who is being tried in absentia. (La Prensa, Panama) |
| MAJ Moisés Giroldi | 1982, Military Intelligence Course (Distinguished
graduate) 1980, Small Unit Administration Course 1975, Counterinsurgency Operations |
Attempted coup, 1989: Giroldi launched a coup attempt against Noriega on October 3, 1989. Giroldi had been instrumental in foiling a coup in March 1988 (see Macias, below). For this and other reasons ("Giroldi's a bastard, a sort of mini- Noriega," said an unnamed Pentagon official in a Time magazine article), the U.S. suspected a trap and failed to support the coup. Noriega had Giroldi murdered when the coup attempt failed. (See Sucre Medina, below.) (Time, 1O/16/89; OMIP) |
| CPT Cleto Hernandez | 1982, Combat Arms Officer Advanced Course 1972, Military Intelligence Officer Course 1972, Jungle Operations |
In 1975, Hernandez was a member of Noriega's G-2 (military intelligence). By 1985, he was second in command of the G-2 and was considered a member of the pandilla ("gang"), a group of younger officers closer to Noriega than some of his old cronies. (OMIP) |
| COL Eduardo Herrera Hassan | 1975, Command and General Staff College 1974, Command and Unit Staff Course 1972, Internal Defense 1966, Joint Operations Course |
Plotted coups for the CIA: Noriega fired him from his post in Israel in 1988; he immediately went to work for the CIA, working on plots to overthrow Noriega. He worked closely with Senator Helms for a time; and the CIA finally put him off the payroll, calling him a "flake." (NYT, 10/23/95, OMIP) Yet, in post- invasion Panama, Herrera was chosen to lead the restructured military police force. Less than a year later, President Endara fired him and put him in prism. A military rebellion of sorts ensued, which was quashed by U.S. soldiers in December 1990 (1 year after the invasion). (OMIP) |
| COL Marcos Justine | 1976, Panamanian Officer Review 1962, Counterinsurgency Operations 1961, Engineer Officer Course |
Allegations of drug trafficking, 1989: A New York Times article suggested that along with Noriega, Justine and 3 other SOA graduates were objects of the October 3, 1989 coup. because they were widely believed to have close ties to Colombian drug traffickers. (NYT, 10/4/89) |
| CPT Javier Licona | 1976, Commando Operations Course | Attempted coup, 1989: One of 3 key young officers (all SOA graduates) who supported Moisés Giroldi's attempted coup against Noriega on October 3, 1989. Licona, part of the Panamanian cavalry, was the highest-ranking rebel to escape Panama after the coup attempt. He fled to Miami. (NYT, 10/4/89) |
| CPT Nicasio Lorenzo | 1981, Combat Arms Advanced Course 1975, Counterinsurgency Operations |
Attempted coup, 1989: Supported the October 1989 coup attempt by Moisés Giroldi. Lorenzo died in jail very soon after the coup failed; family and friends believed he was murdered; prison personnel said he committed suicide. (NYT 10/11/89) |
| COL Leonidas Macias | 1979, Command and General Staff College 1970, Combat Arms Officer Advanced Course 1967, Civic Action Seminar 1962, Engineer Officer Course |
Attempted coup, 1988: As then-Chief of Police, Macias led an unsuccessful coup attempt in March 1988. (NYT, 10/4/89) |
| MAJ Nivaldo Madriñan | 1981, Command and General Staff College 1978, Combat Arms Officer Advanced Course 1972, Urban Counterinsurgency |
Destroying evidence, 1986: Madriñan destroyed evidence (photos, i.d. cards, phone records) linking a major drug runner to Noriega. (OMIP) |
| MAJ Boris Martínez | 1965, Counterinsurgency Operations 1963, SOPM 1960, Infantry Arms and Tactics |
Coup, 1968: Instrumental in the success of Torrijos' successful but bloodless coup against Arnulfo Arias. Shortly thereafter, Martínez overstepped his bounds and Torrijos exiled him to Miami. (OMIP) |
| LTC Julián Melo Borbua | 1974, Command and General Staff 1972, Internal Defense 1970, Combat Arms Officer Advanced Course 1967, Officer General Supply 1965, Counterinsurgency Operations |
Drug trafficking, 1984: Until 1984, Melo was Noriega's right hand man; but Melo was ousted from the National Guard after a murky deal with Colombian drug traffickers went sour. One year later, Melo was "free and prospering, the charges against him having been quietly dropped in December 1984. He later opened Fananciero Facilito, a money brokerage in Panama City. (OMIP) |
| COL Angel Mina | 1965, Infantry Officer Course 1961, Engineer Officer Course |
Allegations of drug trafficking, 1989: A New York Times article suggested that along with Noriega, Angel Mina and 3 other SOA graduates were objec of the October 3, 1989 coup, because they were widely believed to have close ties to Colombian drug traffickers. Mina was considered a member of Noriega's "inner circle" at the height of his power. (NYT, 10/4/89) |
| GEN Manuel Noriega | 1967, Infantry Officer Course 1967, Combat Intelligence Officer Course Military Intelligence, Phase 11 (Counter-Intelligence Officer Course) 1967, Jungle Operations |
Drug trafficking, racketeering: De facto leader of
Panama who, in 1988, became the most powerful foreign official
ever indicted by the United States. He was, of course, captured by
U.S. invading forces in December 1989. (WP, 6/19/94) Noriega's
instructor at the 1967 counterintelligence course commented that
Noriega was "outstanding.' (OMIP) Murder, 1989: Believed to have killed one or more of the soldiers involved in a failed coup attempt in October 1989. On June 5, 1995, a Panamanian court began trying Noriega in absentia, along with 7 others implicated in the killings. (La Prensa, Panama) |
| Major Federico Olechea | 1979, Administration/Instruction Course 1978, Combat Arms Officer Advanced Course |
Coup attempt, 1989?: Olechea commanded the U.S.- trained, crack Battalion 2000, which ultimately rescued Noriega from his would-be captors during Moisés Giroldi's failed 1989 coup attempt. Giroldi's wife claimed later that Olechea betrayed Giroldi, who had counted on him and his battalion to back the coup. Olechea was rumored to be in detention following the coup. (Newsweek, 10/23/89) |
| SGT Ismael Ortega Caballero | 1983, Faculty Development Course | Attempted coup, 1989: Supported Moisés Giroldi's October 1989 coup attempt, and was subsequently murdered for doing so. (La Prensa, Panama) |
| COL Julio Ow Young | 1978, Command and General Staff College 1976, Infantry Officer Advanced Course 1969, O-5 1965, Infantry Officer Course 1963, Engineer Officer Course |
Allegations of drug trafficking, 1989: A New York Times article suggested that along with Noriega, Ow Young and 3 other SOA graduates were objects of the October 3, 1989 coup, because they were widely believed to have close ties to Colombian drug traffickers. (NYT, 10/4/89) Ow Young was apparently out of a job either way; the Washington Post reported two days later that Noriega ordered the arrest of Ow Young following the coup attempt, not because he was considered a part of the coup, but because Noriega had been looking for an excuse to remove him so that he could promote younger officers. (WP, 10/6/89) |
| MAJ Armando Palacios Góndola | 1981, Command and General Staff Course (Distinguished
graduate) 1978, Combat Arms Officer Advanced Course (Distinguished graduate) |
Arrested following coup attempt, 1989: Palacios Góndola was one of Noriega's closest advisors, heading an organization that supervised joint U.S./Panamanian operations. He was arrested following Moisés Giroldi's October 1989 coup attempt, though it is unclear whether or not he actively participated in the coup. (Time, 10/16/89) |
| COL Rubén Darío Paredes | 1958, Military Police Orientation 1961, Counter-resistance 1965, Infantry Officer Course |
Bloodless barracks coup, 1982: With Noriega, Díaz Herrera, and Contreras (SOA graduates all) nonviolently ousted National Guard chief Florencio Florez (who, upon inheriting the command of the Panamanian National Guard after Torrijos death, "showed no ambition and had not even promoted himself to general"). Paredes himself then became commander of the National Guard; one of his first official functions (again, with Noriega and Díaz Herrera) was to force the retirement of Panamanian president Aristides Royo. Having done this, he issued a set of decrees (all but one presented as "recommendations") that called for the resignation of almost everyone in the civilian government, the implementation of several new laws, a review of the labor code, and a 7-day shutdown of all newspapers. He had National Guard troops occupy the liberal La Prensa; they ruined or stole much of the equipment and files. (OMIP) |
| COL Lorenzo Purcell | 1977, Infantry Officer Advanced Course | Allegations of drug trafficking, 1989: A New York Times article suggested that along with Noriega, Purcell and 3 other SOA graduates were objects of the October 3, 1989 coup, because they were widely believed to have close ties to Colombian drug traffickers. (NYT, 10/4/89) |
| CPT Evidello Quiel | 1983, Military Intelligence Course 1982, Instruction Course 1981, Curso de Buseo |
Murder, 1989: One of 8 soldiers who went on trial in Panama on June 5, 1995 for the murder of 9 soldiers following a failed coup attempt in October 1989, Quiel is a fugitive who is being tried in absentia. (La Prensa, Panama) |
| CPT Edgardo Sandoval | 1980, Basic Combat Arms Course | Attempted coup, 1989: One of 3 key young officers (all SOA graduates) who supported Moisés Giroldi's attempted coup against Noriega on October 3, 1989. (NYT, 10/4/89) Sandoval was murdered when the coup failed. (WP, 10/5/89) |
| LTC Amado Sanjur | 1961, Comando y Plana Mayor | Attempted coup, 1969: With Ramiro Silvera (below), led an unsuccessful coup attempt against Torrijos in December 1969. He was imprisoned, but later escaped with several others and fled to Miami. (OMIP) |
| LTC Ramiro Silvera | 1967, Command and General Staff College 1961, Counter-resistance Course |
Attempted coup, 1969: With Amado Sanjur (above) led an unsuccessful coup attempt against Torrijos in December 1969. (OMIP) |
| MAJ Heraclides Sucre Medina | 1979, Administration and Instruction 1978, Infantry Tactics |
Murder: Convicted in March 1994 of murdering Major Moisés Giroldi (above), who had attempted to overthrow Noriega in a violent coup. (NSN 3/13/94) |
| CPT Leon Tejada Gonzalez | 1982, Training Management Officer Course 1981, Combat Arms Officer Advanced Course |
Attempted coup, 1989: Supported Moisés Giroldi's 1989 coup attempt against Noriega, and was subsequently killed for his involvement. (La Prensa, Panama) |
| GEN Omar Torrijos | 1967, COPECODECA 1966, Command and General Staff College 1964, "SOPM" 1963, Counterinsurgency Operations |
Dictator, 1968-1980: Led a bloodless coup against civilian President Arnulfo Arias in 1968.(WP, 5/19/94; OMIP) Killed in an airplane crash in western Panama on July 31, 1981. |
| COL Guillermo J Wong | 1981, Command and General Staff College 1975, Infantry Officer Advanced Course 1967, Jungle Operations 1966, Civic Action Seminar |
Attempted Coup, 1989: As then-chief of Panamanian military intelligence, Wong was reported in some news reports to have supported Moisés Giroldi's 1989 attempt to oust Noriega. Others reported that Wong was arrested after the coup attempt, not because he was considered a part of the coup, but because Noriega had been looking for an excuse to remove him so that he could promote younger officers. (NYT, 10/4/89; WP 10/6/89)) |
Information researched by Vicky Imerman.