The World : U.S. to Boost Panama Force

The United States is sending 250 more troops to Panama as part of a continuing move to boost security for U.S. installations there, a spokesman for the U.S. Southern Command said. Col. Ronald Sconyers said the additional troops are support personnel needed “to round out” the buildup of security forces that began last March amid rising tensions between Washington and Panama’s strongman, Gen. Manuel A. Noriega. Under the 1977 Panama Canal Treaties, the United States is charged with the protection and defense of the strategic waterway until it is turned over to Panama on Dec. 31, 1999.