U.S. Denies Noriega Claim of Invasion : State Department Monitoring Reports of Cuba Troops There

The State Department said today that the dispatch of about 1,300 fresh U.S. troops to Panama is “absolutely not” the invasion strongman Manuel Noriega claims it is.

Department spokeswoman Phyllis Oakley also said the agency is monitoring reports that 800 to 1,200 Cubans recently arrived in Panama and are under the control of the Noriega-run Panamanian Defense Force.

Oakley could not confirm published reports that the Cubans arrived about two weeks ago.

“We have seen these reports. They are unconfirmed reports of Cubans in Panama, ostensibly under the control of the PDF. We’re following the situation closely,” she said.

Policy ‘Absolutely Clear’

She declined to speculate when asked if the presence of Cubans in Panama would change U.S. policy, and added, “Our policy toward Noriega is absolutely clear.”

Noriega has claimed that the impending arrival of extra U.S. forces constitutes an invasion of Panama, but Oakley said it was “absolutely not.”

“I’m not going to speculate or predict or say what he’s likely to think” about the arrival of the U.S. forces. “We think he should leave. We hope that Panama can turn toward a more democratic government. We are going to support the Panama Canal treaties and we’re very clear on saying we’ll protect American citizens. I think that message is clear. I don’t think he’ll have any difficulty getting it,” she said.

Warning About AIDS

In Panama City today, working-class Panamanians were reported organizing people’s battalions to defend against U.S. intervention as fresh American troops flew to the canal area.

The Health Ministry said military intervention was not the only danger. It published a warning to Panamanian citizens to stay away from the newly arriving troops on the ground that they could be carrying the deadly virus that causes AIDS, or acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

An official at the mayor’s office in the working-class neighborhood of San Miguelito said about 200 people of all ages had signed up for the “Dignity Battalion.”

The official said the group was meeting every night in a local sports stadium to practice marching.

Military Training Planned

A report in the pro-government newspaper Matutino said they would receive military training, but did not say what kind or whether the training would involve use of arms. The report said similar brigades were being organized in other working class communities outside the capital.

Most of the 1,300 new U.S. troops, along with 27 helicopters and canine patrol units, are to arrive on Wednesday, a military spokeswoman said here. About 10,000 U.S. soldiers are already stationed in Panama.

She said the troops will not patrol outside of U.S.-controlled areas, but Noriega has called the troop deployment, the second in as many months, the prelude to a U.S. military intervention.