Marines, Army Troops Arrive at Panama Base

The Marines landed first and the Army followed Friday when the United States beefed up its forces here to show its displeasure with the regime of Gen. Manuel A. Noriega.

There was no official reaction from Noriega, whom the U. S. government and international observers accused of annulling the presidential election rather than let the opposition win.

Fifty Marines of the 2nd Light Armored Infantry Company from Camp Lejeune, N.C., with their eight-wheel armored vehicles, were the first to touch down at this base on the outskirts of Panama City.

71 Planeloads Expected

They were followed by planeloads of Army soldiers from the 7th Infantry Division at Ft. Ord, Calif., and the U.S. Army 5th Infantry Division at Ft. Polk, La.

Seventy-one planes with nearly 1,900 men and their equipment were expected to land over a 30-hour period.

The first planes were a few minutes late, and an officer on the Tarmac remarked that MAC, the Military Airlift Command, also means “Maybe Airplane Come.”

The C-141 Starlifter and C-5 Galaxy jets started landing at Howard shortly after 1 p.m. on a typical humid, sunny Panamanian afternoon. The Marines came through a side door, and their ammunition and other equipment rolled off the planes’ rear doors in large boxes.

The Marines picked up their gear and, rifles slung, marched inside to be assigned to what were described as “field areas throughout the military installations.”

“Most of them will be living in tents,” a Southern Command spokesman said.

Some Marines smiled at journalists and waved.

“Glad to be here,” a sergeant said as he went by. “It was a rough flight.”

‘Proud to Be Here’

Col. Dave Hale, a burly man with a camouflaged face, read a brief statement to newsmen.

“We are proud to be here,” he read. “We are here at the decision of the President to support the U.S. Southern Command.”

Hale is a brigade commander in the 7th Light Infantry Brigade and is leading the contingent here.

The troops walked past a large passenger lounge where some military dependents were making arrangements to fly back to the United States. They were some of the nearly 3,000 military and civilian dependents that were moved into army bases Friday for security reasons.

Cheryl Hohl and her two children Meghan, 4, Ryan, 2, watched the solders file by.

“I have been here for 18 months. My husband and I decided it would be better if I went back to Baltimore,” she said. “I lived on the base. I had Panamanian friends. I never was afraid while I lived here.”

President Bush ordered the troop buildup to protect 50,000 American lives and to increase pressure against Noriega, who for 14 months has resisted all U.S. efforts to oust him.

Candidate Beaten Up

The buildup was ordered after the anti-Noriega presidential candidate and his supporters were beaten Wednesday by a government goons and police. Later that night, the government annulled last Sunday’s elections, which opposition candidate Guillermo Endara appeared to have won.

Endara, presidential candidate of the Civil Democratic Opposition Alliance, remained hospitalized recovering from a blow to the head. The blow by a Noriega supporter wielding an iron bar briefly knocked him unconscious.

The troop arrival provoked almost no outward reaction from the Panamanian people, who have been stunned in recent days by Noriega’s naked display of power.

A random sampling of Panamanians in the capital showed many worrying that the arrival of U.S. troops meant an increased level of conflict but supporting U.S. efforts to pressure Noriega.

Mariza Rodriguez de Avila, a store owner, said “The United States has been our best teacher . . . I hope the troops arrive quickly.”

But Aurelio Vazquez, 63, a retiree who said he saw no reason to get rid of Noriega, said “Bush’s pretext (for sending the troops) is absurd. Nobody is attacking the Panama Canal.”

American Schools Closed

At U.S. military bases, schools were closed and all unofficial off-base activities, from shopping to scuba diving, were canceled.

All U.S. Embassy dependents already had moved onto bases, and Swank said all military dependents would be moved by Friday evening.

At the U.S. Embassy, where the U.S. staff was to be cut from 105 to fewer than 50, staffers were waiting for more detailed instructions on who would go and when.

American businessmen, however, said that they were not having any problems beyond those caused by the unstable political situation and a damaged economy, and did not plan to evacuate.

International condemnation of the election and the beatings continued to pour in Friday. Mexico withdrew its envoy for consultations.

Nicaragua and the Soviet Union, however, condemned the dispatch of U.S. troops as interference.

OAS Ministers to Meet

In Washington, the Organization of American States permanent council approved unanimously a Venezuelan proposal calling for OAS foreign ministers to meet Wednesday to discuss the crisis in Panama.

Noriega has not appeared in public since before last Sunday’s election and has issued no statements on the breakdown of the election process. He had gone into the elections seeking legitimacy for the regime.

Flag officers they expect U.S. military buildup here will eventually include at least one aircraft carrier, although they said that initially the ship likely will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean far from the Panamanian shore. From this position, the carrier’s planes could reach Panama while the ship itself would be out of sight of land. A carrier and its escort ships could always be sent close to Panama’s Pacific or Caribbean coasts should Bush decide to raise the profile of the American military presence.

The two carriers that could be assigned to any duty near Panama’s Caribbean side were the America, which Friday was positioned at sea off Norfolk, with its air wing aboard; and the Eisenhower, which was participating in a military exercise off the North Carolina coast.

The Eisenhower’s task force includes amphibious ships with Marines aboard who could provide further reinforcement to U.S. troops in Panama while their ships could be used for evacuating civilians if that were ordered.