Noriega Bodyguard Overheard Invasion Discussed, U.S. Says

A bodyguard to Manuel Antonio Noriega overheard two U.S. servicemen discussing the invasion of Panama hours before it occurred, a Pentagon spokesman said today.

It was unclear, however, whether the guard relayed that information to Noriega or whether the incident played any role in the U.S. failure to capture Noriega in the days after the invasion.

“There is some evidence that some officials may have had some advance thought that this operation was about to happen. But there isn’t a lot of evidence that actions were taken as a result of that,” Defense Department spokesman Pete Williams told reporters.

“A bodyguard during a debriefing interview said that two U.S. soldiers had been overheard discussing their positions for H-hour. And that supposedly happened at 10 p.m., three hours before the attack was to begin,” Williams said.