PANAMA UPDATE

The Fighting U.S. troops, completing the conquest of Panama’s military bases, moved into the streets of Panama City to root out members of Gen. Manuel A. Noriega’s paramilitary Dignity Battalions and end the chaos that has racked the capital. Noriega remained at large, possibly in the countryside. Law and Order Guillermo Endara, the opposition leader installed as president just before the U.S. invasion began, emerged from hiding to impose a curfew on the country and order the closing of all public and private establishments through today. With Panama’s combined army and police force disabled, the capital has been struck by massive looting. Americans The Pentagon said it is investigating reports of about a dozen Americans who may be held hostage by Noriega loyalists. President Bush said some of Noriega’s supporters may attempt to trade hostages for safe conduct out of the country. CBS News said one of its producers has not been heard from since Wednesday night, when gunmen abducted him from the Marriott Hotel. Casualties Twenty-one American servicemen have been reported killed, including two Californians, and more than 208 wounded. U.S. military planes began airlifting bodies to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware and wounded to military hospitals in San Antonio. The Reaction The Soviet Union again denounced the invasion, calling Washington’s explanation a “propaganda smoke screen.”In Latin America, only El Salvador, heavily dependent on U.S. military aid, called the action “justifiable.” Other world reaction was generally divided along ideological lines, with Western allies expressing understanding while East Bloc and nonaligned nations generally condemned the attack.