The Panama Deception (1992)

A film about the true reasons for the 1989 US invasion of Panama and big media complicity in these activities.

Director:

Barbara Trent

Writer:

David Kasper

Stars:

Elizabeth Montgomery, Abraham Alvarez, Carlos Cantú

Won 1 Oscar.

Cast

Credited cast:
Elizabeth Montgomery	...	Herself - Narrator (voice)
Abraham Alvarez	...	English Voice-over (voice)
Carlos Cantú	...	English Voice-over (voice) (as Carlos Cantu)
Diviana Ingravallo	...	English Voice-over (voice)
Alma Martinez	...	English Voice-over (voice)
Lou Diamond Phillips	...	English Voice-over (voice)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ashton Bancroft	...	Himself - President: Refugee Committee
Manuel Becker	...	Himself - Panamanian Cameraman
Larry Birns	...	Himself - Council on Hemispheric Affairs
Esmeralda Brown	...	Herself - UN Methodist Office
Humberto Brown	...	Himself - Former Panamanian Diplomat
Eugene Carroll	...	Himself - Center for Defense Information (as Rear Admiral Eugene Carroll)
Julio Cesar Guerra	...	Himself - Panamanian Photojournalist
Ramsey Clark	...	Himself
Jeff Cohen	...	Himself - Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting

Storyline

This documentary details the case that the 1989 invasion of Panama by the US was motivated not by the need to protect American soldiers, restore democracy or even capture Noriega. It was to force Panama to submit the will of the United States after Noriega had exhausted his usefulness.

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Plot Keywords:

panama | invasion | media | america | photograph | 

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Taglines:

Exposing The Cover Up!

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Genres:

Documentary | History | War

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Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 July 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Panama Deception: Exposing the Cover Up!

Box Office

Gross:

$309,596 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Empowerment Project, Channel 4 Television Corporation, Rhino Home Video

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Features World News with Diane Sawyer (1953)

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Soundtracks

"Bomba de Navidad"
Written by Louie Ramirez
Performed by Ismael Rivera
Courtesy of VEV Publishing-Sonido, Inc.

User Reviews

Brave documentary

This shocking and detailed eye-opening on the events surrounding the Panama invasion by U.S. forces in 1989, amazingly won the Best Documentary Oscar, one of those rare occasions when the Academy takes big chances and awards the most controversial of the competitors. With justice. Barbara Trent's film is hypnotic, brave, providing loads information in the right measure, without being overbearing and excessive.

What one calls it as Operation Just Cause with the intent of taking down Panama's then leader Manuel Noriega was nothing less than a bunch of gruesome operations that led in 3000 casualties on the Panamenian side, 23 on the American side, - numbers varying from source to source

• thousands of people lost their homes during the one month occupation

and only in the end such operation got to the eventual fall of its leader facing many accusations from drug trafficking (major source of drugs entering in the U.S.) to violation of human rights. With all that in mind, "The Panama Deception" doesn't fall into being biased or deeply anti-American as it could be, instead, preferring to examine both sides of the issue presenting the horrible suffering from the Panamenian people and the embarrassing explanations given by a Pentagon aide who doesn't convince at all on why the operation was necessary. Gotta to be kidding when it's mentioned that all happened because they had to defend U.S. sovereignty on a foreign soil, or something to the extent that if one American dies (in this case a marine was shot a few days before the invasion) something must be done. Such reaction didn't occur when Flight 007 was taken down by the Soviets in 1983, there was an American senator in the plane. Wonder why. The goal in here was to keep control of the canal, change the deal signed by Jimmy Carter which was more favorable to the Panamenian control.

A brief yet powerful history lesson that goes show once again history repeating itself: the frailty and dangers of a paranoid nation who creates their foreign demons to later battle them back when they no longer represent their interests (in this case, Noriega), giving false pretexts to command invasions, establish their orders and murder innocent people indiscriminately. Thankfully the truth came out with this documentary which was bold enough to question authorities during its making (it's not rare to see moments where U.S. soldiers kept asking for the camera to be turned off when filming the concentration camps - shelters? - with thousands of people living at the worst possible conditions, surrounded by barbed wire fences and armed guards) and to denounce how close the first world media was treating the matter in their prime time news.

Enraging, brutal, at times shocking and brilliantly made. 10/10