COMBAT IN PANAMA : Panama Reopens Washington Embassy

Panama’s new government reopened its embassy to the United States on Friday as Carlos Rodriguez, who had been an exile living in Miami, received the silver keys to the building from the previous ambassador, Juan Sosa.

Rodriguez, named ambassador by Panamanian President Guillermo Endara, entered the embassy after meeting with President Bush and assuring him that his countrymen feel “liberated” by the U.S. invasion of Panama and the overthrow of dictator Manuel A. Noriega.

He said that he and Bush discussed “removing the (U.S) troops as soon as it becomes practical to do so.”

Rodriguez, a city councilman in Panama City in the 1960s and a candidate for vice president in 1984, said he has long worked in opposition to Noriega and now hopes to work closely with the United States to “restore tranquillity to the people of Panama.”

Appearing to be nervous--his voice shaking at times before television cameras at the elegant, oak-floored embassy--Rodriguez grinned when asked to respond to critics who say that the United States appears to be fashioning a government on behalf of the Panamanian people.

“I think people who make that type of statement fail to understand that Panamanians elected Mr. Endara by a margin of 3 to 1 . . . ,” he said. As for his own appointment, Rodriguez said: “President Endara came to me. The United States had nothing to do with it.”

Rodriguez said he and Endara have worked closely together for several months and share the same vision for a democratic Panama.

Rodriguez fills a post that had been empty since Sept. 1, when Ambassador Juan Sosa, himself a Noriega critic, stepped down.

Appearing with Rodriguez was Lawrence Chewning, named by Endara to be Panama’s ambassador to the Organization of American States. But Chewning faced a problem that Rodriguez did not: The present holder of his office has refused to vacate, and Chewning had to move into a separate office.