Last Noriega Troops Surrender : Panama: But some violence in the streets continues. Endara begins to organize his government.

The last organized military support for deposed Panamanian dictator Manuel A. Noriega collapsed Saturday, and Panama’s new U.S.-approved leaders began efforts to form and run an actual government.

According to European diplomats involved in the negotiations, the garrisons at five important provincial capitals have pledged their allegiance to the constitution and the new government sworn in after thousands of American troops invaded early Wednesday.

However, it was clear that the optimism caused by the surrenders and the announcement of army reorganization had not brought all violence in the nation to an end.

Shots continued to ring out in Panama City on Saturday night, and there were no reports of sizable surrenders, captures or suppression of the so-called Dignity Battalions, paramilitary units formed by Noriega last year to terrorize his political opposition.

Noriega remained at large.

The vast majority of the estimated 15,000 officers and enlisted men of the old Panama Defense Forces, commonly called the PDF, agreed to give their allegiance to the new, U.S.-installed civilian government and to restore order in their areas. But small numbers refused.

Both the diplomatic sources and Panamanian military officers say the newly loyal troops already are searching for members of Dignity Battalions and others still supporting Noriega, once the “maximum leader of Panama.”

The agreements were reached between the five unit commanders and Vice President Ricardo Arias Calderon and U.S. Gen. Marc Cisneros, commander of the U.S. Army South, which is based at Ft. Clayton near the Panama Canal.

The diplomats said that the Roman Catholic Church mediated the pact and will act as its guarantor, particularly concerning a pledge by Cisneros not to attack or otherwise molest the Panamanian forces.

“The PDF wasn’t so much against the new government,” said one European diplomat, “as it was afraid of the American forces. Once it was clear the Americans wouldn’t attack them, they were willing to support the new leaders.”

Particularly important was the surrender of the garrison in the city of David in the northern jungle province of Chiriqui, considered a Noriega stronghold and the likely place for him to hide and direct any anti-U.S. guerrilla action.

Interestingly, the unit commander, Col. Luis A. del Cid, is one of those who was indicted, along with Noriega, in a U.S. federal court in Florida on drug trafficking charges.

Del Cid told a news conference Saturday in David that he only wanted assurances of fair treatment and already had begun operations against irregular forces in the jungle. No one would discuss the possibility of his extradition to the United States on the drug charges, a major concern in the case of Noriega.

The other units switching are in Santiago, Los Santos, Boca del Toro and Chitre.

In spite of this generally optimistic turn, and in the face of misleading assurances Friday afternoon by Gen. Maxwell R. Thurman, commander of the U.S. Southern Command here, that there had been no battles in the previous 24 hours in Panama City, other American officers and eyewitnesses reported constant fire-fights between the invading army and resisting Panamanian units.

Mortar Attacks

American troops Saturday morning launched several mortars against forces of the Dignity Battalions entrenched in a jungle preserve on the edge of Ft. Clayton, which is about six miles from the Panama City limits.

U.S. units also came under fire early during the day near the U.S. Embassy and the residence of American Ambassador Arthur Davis. Residents of Via Espana, a well-to-do neighborhood, watched as Dignity Battalion members exchanged gunfire with a hovering U.S. helicopter gunship.

The fighting has caused the deaths of 25 American soldiers and the wounding of 238, with one still missing. On the Panamanian side, at least 139 PDF members have died in action, 95 are reported wounded and 2,250 have been captured.

Gen. Thurman said in a news conference that 15,500 weapons have been seized by his troops.

Further weakening Noriega’s ability to carry out a sustained resistance was the surrender Saturday of the so-called Palace Guard, a PDF unit that protected the presidential residence and offices in downtown Panama City.

The building was occupied by U.S. troops in the afternoon.

And to prevent the military institution that was the Panama Defense Forces from reconstituting itself as a danger to his government, President Endara on Saturday announced the official dismantling of the PDF, which was the nation’s sole military, police and security organization before its defeat by the Americans.

He said it would be replaced by a smaller organization called the Public Forces of Panama and will be limited essentially to police and other public order functions.

Force Reduction

The new organization ultimately will be reduced in size to about 3,500, according to diplomatic sources, and will be headed by Col. Roberto Armijo, a troop commander in the old PDF.

Guillermo (Billy) Ford, the second of Panama’s two vice presidents, said in an interview that Armijo was not associated with the corruption, violence and mismanagement of the PDF. “He was the senior officer among the decent officers” in the old military, Ford said.

The second in command is another controversial ex-PDF officer, Col. Eduardo Herrera Hassan. He was dismissed by Noriega in 1987, allegedly because his popularity among the rank and file was a challenge to the dictator.

Hassan was brought back to the PDF in 1988 to head special corps of riot troops called the Dobermans to suppress rising anti-Noriega civil unrest. Although he succeeded in that mission with bloody efficiency, Hassan was again fired and has been living in Miami.

Ford insisted that for the first time since the American invasion and the resulting anarchy, looting and vandalism have eased.

Indeed, travels Saturday through Panama City neighborhoods from the almost unbelievably poor sections of the inner city to the opulent areas of Altos de Gulf showed that at least in daylight people were behaving civilly.

But the shattered store windows, the burned-out buildings, the hulks of wrecked vehicles blocking intersections and the stomach-turning smell of smoldering debris were all reminders of the utter chaos and lawlessness that have ruled the streets since the American invasion.

No accurate figures are available, but prominent businessmen said the damage will run in the tens of millions of dollars.

Street Interviews

It was unclear from interviews with people on the streets whether law and order were being restored--there were occasional American military patrols seen and some U.S. soldiers guarded key intersections and food stores--or that there was simply nothing left to loot.

Gen. Thurman emphasized that many Panamanians had been awaiting the arrival of the American troops and had welcomed them. Moreover, he said, in many cases they had identified members of the Dignity Battalions so that U.S. troops could capture them.

Saturday saw the evident spontaneous creation of pro-government vigilante groups in the streets, armed men who established barricades and were actively seeking out Dignity Battalion members.

Ironically, American military patrols were disarming the vigilantes but not replacing them in any strength. The leader of one vigilante group that captured four Noriega followers and found three machine guns in the trunk of their car said he called the U.S. military and was promised an immediate patrol. Six hours later, no American personnel had arrived.

The existing danger also was underlined by the new government’s refusal to publicly identify the members of the new Cabinet appointed to administer affairs of state. “We can’t announce them because of security reasons,” Vice President Ford said.

Careful Handling

Although Endara, Arias Calderon and Ford have been extreme critics of Noriega and overwhelmingly defeated the general’s handpicked candidate in last May’s presidential election, they are handling the matter of his military followers as if it were a fragile egg.

“We’re screening (the military) for loyalty,” Ford said, “and the loyal and decent military will remain.” But even those culled will not be punished, the vice president said.

“There will be no revenge against the military who fought against the takeover. They will not be shot, jailed nor persecuted. But they will be required to lay down their arms,” he added.

He even indicated a sense of mercy for the usually despised Dignity Battalions, members of which nearly beat him to death with iron bars last May.

“We don’t want repression nor reprisals,” Ford said. “But we have to have them turn in their weapons.”

Times Washington Bureau Chief Jack Nelson contributed to this story.

U.S. Sees Long Pull U.S. forces face “weeks and months” in Panama. A5 Noriega Aide Defects Noriega officer ends resistance “to avoid a massacre.” A5 Vigilantes Rule Armed Panamanians take back the streets from looters. A6 MILITARY ACTION IN PANAMA 1. David--Panama Defense Forces soldiers in provincial capital of David, a city of 80,000, were told by the new U.S.-installed government of Panama to keep their arms and assume responsibility for maintaining public order in region.

2. Coiba Island--U.S. Southern Command reports that prisoners at island prison on Coiba overcame pro-Noriega guards and radioed for help from American forces. Prisoners reportedly included some former Panama Defense Forces officers who led a failed coup attempt against Noriega on Oct. 3.

3. San Miguelito--Air Force planes bomb hilltop redoubt of Noriega loyalists in working-class suburb of San Miguelito. Residents say eight houses were destroyed in attack aimed at house where weapons for Noriega supporters were reported cached. Later, U.S. troops descend on neighborhood, which has been site of strong resistance.

1. Howard Air Base--2,000 fresh American troops began arriving from Army’s 7th Light Infantry Division at Ft. Ord., Calif. Reinforcements include helicopter company.

2. Bridge of the Americas--President Guillermo Endara asks that Bridge of the Americas, controlled by U.S. forces, be opened to civilian traffic. Bridge is main crossing of Panama Canal, which splits Panama in two.

3. Central Avenue--Amid relative calm in downtown area, U.S. forces comb Central Avenue, conducting house-to-house searches for snipers.

4. El Chorrillo--About 28,000 people reportedly are homeless in neighborhood around Panama Defense Forces headquarters, destroyed by U.S. forces in initial assault Wednesday.

5. Cuban Embassy--Lazaro Mora, Cuba’s ambassador to Panama, said U.S. has tightened military net around Cuban Embassy, increasing number of armored cars there to eight.

6. Marriott Hotel--CBS News reports that pro-Noriega forces released Jon Meyersohn, producer seized Wednesday at Marriott, and a U.S. businessman not previously identified as a hostage.