Americans in Panama Still Fear for Safety

A decision taken in Washington to send additional troops to Panama, described as a move to protect U.S. citizens and interests, has done little to reassure American citizens who live in this turbulent country that they are safe from harm.

The main safety worries can be found among Americans who live outside U.S. military bases. In several interviews conducted Saturday, these U.S. citizens felt that despite the troop influx, they were vulnerable to the unrest plaguing the country.

The Americans considered the troop movement not as a protection for themselves but rather as a way to beef up security at the Panama Canal and at American military installations. The Pentagon announced Friday that it was sending 1,300 troops to Panama, in part to assure the safety of Americans here.

‘To Protect Canal’

“These soldiers are to protect the canal, not to protect us. There is no law where we live,” said Donald Vose, a security employee at the Panama Canal.

About 45,000 Americans live in Panama. Of these, 10,000 are U.S. military personnel stationed at American bases. Another 13,000 are family members of soldiers. About 6,500 U.S. military personnel and their families live off the bases in Panama.

The rest of the Americans are civilian employees of the U.S. military, employees of the Panama Canal Commission, an American-chartered joint venture of the United States and Panama that operates the waterway, and business people and others.

Their safety concerns intensified as Panama’s political crisis turned increasingly violent in recent weeks, and military ruler Gen. Manuel A. Noriega showed his determination to remain the de facto ruler of Panama.

Despite the trappings of American power visible along the length of the Panama Canal, Americans outside military bases are unconvinced that their security is of prime concern to policy makers in Washington.

“If things get out of hand, I think we will have to make our own decisions,” said Robert Apold, an inspector at the canal. Apold added that in case of rioting or attacks on Americans, he would try to drive his family to nearby U.S. bases for shelter.

Little Bit of U.S. Life

Canal workers Vose and Apold make their home in Corozal, a little corner of U.S. life that sometimes seems more American than America itself. Except for the palm trees, it is easy for a visitor to Corozal to imagine he is in rural New England rather than tropical Panama.

Until 1979, residential compounds such as Corozal that lie along the Panama Canal were American territory. Before 1979, the area was part of the U.S. Canal Zone.

A U.S.-Panamanian treaty that took effect in 1979 put the Panama Canal under Panamanian control. Corozal and other enclaves housing American canal workers came under Panamanian law.

Now in Awkward Limbo

Now, with unrest afflicting Panama, where the canal workers do their shopping, get medical care and carry on other work-a-day business, the Americans find themselves in an uncomfortable limbo.

“I would never let my family go into Panama City now,” said Lou Hilzinger, the operator of a dredging crane in the canal.

To ease the fears of canal workers, who are U.S. government employees, the American military is permitting them to make purchases at small convenience stores located on military bases. The canal employees can make daily purchases of up to $75 at such stores, which sell items like milk and canned goods.

Americans who live farther from the canal are also nervous. In the high-rise neighborhood of Punta Paitilla, many businessmen have sent their wives and children to safety in the United States.

Form Vigilance Committees

Some businessmen and other residents remaining in Panama are taking special precautions. In one apartment building where several Americans live, the residents have organized vigilance committees to be on the lookout for raiding Panamanian soldiers or Noriega sympathizers.

“We have the feeling that this is a place that could be attacked,” said one resident of such a high-rise condominium.

An American soldier who lives in Punta Paitilla and who drives daily to his job near the Panama Canal said he would fend for himself in case of unrest. “I will just drive my jeep to the (U.S.) bases and anyone in the way better watch out,” he said.

When making the announcement of the troop deployment, U.S. officials in Washington and here in Panama went out of their way to emphasize that the action was meant neither to intimidate Noriega nor to form part of a strike force to drive him from power.

There were mixed official responses to speculation that the troops might be used to rescue Americans living in Panama City or other towns in Panama.

Protection Need Cited

In a statement read to reporters Friday, Col. Ronald Sconyers, a spokesman for the U.S. armed forces here, said that “the potential for increased threats to U.S. citizens and interests in Panama make this deployment essential at this time to ensure the continued safety of U.S. personnel and facilities.”

Sconyers speaks for the Southern Command, a major U.S. military and intelligence outpost. The Southern Command oversees the operation of 10 bases for use by the Army, Air Force and Navy in Panama, as well as smaller bases for protection of the canal.

Although Sconyers said that American civilians living in Panama City are “the most vulnerable” to unrest or to attack from Noriega’s troops, he stopped short of saying that American soldiers coming to Panama would be used to shield the residents.

One informed source said that the new deployment is designed to guard against a desperate attack by Noriega on the Panama Canal or U.S. military bases. Such an attack might result from Noriega’s trying to leave power in a “blaze of glory,” the source said.

Copters to Protect Base

A U.S. military official added that the helicopter gunships that will be part of the new deployment are to be used for protecting Howard Air Base, the main U.S. airfield in Panama under the Southern Command.

Last Thursday, military families who live outside the bases were invited to the Southern Command to hear about rudimentary evacuation plans. The families were given the names and addresses of on-base families who will shelter them in case of evacuation from Panama neighborhoods.