U.S. Sends a Modest Military Contingent to Restive Panama
The United States has sent modest military reinforcements to Panama to guard against growing unrest.
The Pentagon on Monday said a 55-man Marine anti-terrorist unit and a 45-man Air Force security group were sent to Panama to beef up U.S. forces already there.
“This is just a prudent measure to augment the security personnel that are currently down there,” said Cmdr. Robert Prucha, a Pentagon spokesman.
“When you’ve got people who are not being paid, when electricity is being shut off you don’t know what might happen,” he said. “So we thought it would be better to be safe than sorry.”
The Pentagon spokesman said the types of units being sent did not mean the United States was responding to either a terrorist or Air Force security threat.
He said the Marines are essentially military police and the security group would be used as needed at Howard Air Force Base in Panama. U.S. military forces in Panama total about 10,000.
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