Soviets Assail, Thatcher Hails Move on Panama

The Soviet Union today swiftly condemned the U.S. military assault to seize Panamanian leader Manuel Antonio Noriega, while British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher praised it as a “courageous decision.”

“Someone has to uphold democracy,” Thatcher said.

Reactions contrasted sharply as news flashed around the world that President Bush had ordered troops to capture Gen. Noriega, who was indicted on cocaine trafficking charges in the United States in 1988.

Governments across Latin America strongly criticized the military strike, saying it marked a throwback to the days of gunboat diplomacy in the region.

From Mexico to Brazil, the use of force by the so-called “Colossus of the North” to settle its dispute with tiny Panama played badly.

Surprisingly, some of the harshest criticism came from countries with generally close ties to Washington, such as Venezuela, which said the incursion should be “condemned and rejected” by all nations.

Canada expressed regret today about the use of force by the United States in Panama but was sympathetic to the American action under the circumstances.

A statement from External Affairs Minister Joe Clark also said that “intervention by force is a dangerous precedent,” adding that Canada notes that the United States relied on force as a last resort after failing to resolve the situation in Panama peacefully.

Foreign Minister Francisco Fernandez Ordonez of Spain said he “deeply lamented” the U.S. action. He said the Spanish government, “which always has been opposed to foreign military intervention, expresses its hope that the Panamanian people can decide their future in freedom.”

In Moscow, Foreign Ministry spokesman Vadim P. Perfiliev said, “These actions, a violation of the U.N. Charter and generally recognized rules of state relations, should be condemned by the international community. The United States must immediately stop its armed intervention in Panama.”