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U.S.-Panamanian Relations since 1941*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Lester D. Langley
Lester D. Langley*
Affiliation:
Department of History, Central Washington State College, Ellensburg
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Extract

Since 1941 United States relations with Latin American countries have fluctuated between the ofñcial cordiality of wartime cooperation, which provided the basis for the Organization of American States and the Rio Treaty, and deep-seated hostility and malaise, which erupted in the Nixon visit and in Castro's revolution, as well as in more recent unpleasant incidents. Latin American leaders have contended that the United States violated its wartime commitments, particularly in the economic sphere, by concentrating on the recovery of Europe in the first postwar decade and on Asian upheaval in the second. The history of U.S.-Panamanian relations since 1941 provides an excellent case study in order to test the validity of these contentions.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs , Volume 12 , Issue 3 , July 1970 , pp. 339 - 366
Copyright
Copyright © University of Miami 1970

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Footnotes

*

The author appreciates the aid of the following organizations and persons in his research for this article: the Dwight D. Eisenhower Library, Abilene, Kansas; the Canal Zone Library Museum, Balboa, Canal Zone; Frank Baldwin, director, Panama Canal Information Office; the Biblioteca Nacional of Panama; the National University Library of Panama; and Rafael Moscote, Decano General of the University of Panama.

References

1 The historian of recent United States-Panamanian relations must rely largely on the public record, for Department of State material on the years since 1945 is closed to the researcher. However, the Panamanian government's Memorias extend into the 1960s and provide an official view, albeit a biased one. The complete story cannot be told until State Department unpublished material is made available, but a partial summary can be obtained in official government publications, particularly Congressional hearings, and public statements of the presidents. In addition, the Eisenhower Library provided on microfilm a substantial amount of unpublished material dealing with the “flag” issue.

2 For the history of U.S.-Panamanian affairs in the 1930s see Langley, Lester D., “Negotiating New Treaties with Panama, 1936,” Hispanic American Historical Review 48 (May 1968): 220–233 CrossRefGoogle Scholar; and “The World Crisis and the Good Neighbor Policy in Panama, 1936-1941,” The Americas 24 (October 1967): 137-152.

3 Defense Sites Agreement, 18 May 1942, in Arosemena, Diógenes A., ed., Documentary Diplomatic History of the Panama Canal (Panama, 1961), pp. 453–467.Google Scholar

4 Víctor F. Goytía to Edwin Wilson, 5 February 1942, Department of State, Foreign Relations of the United States: 1942, 6: 579-580; Wilson to Secretary of State, 9 March 1942, ibid., pp. 584-591.

5 Briggs, H. W., “Treaties, Executive Agreements, and the Panama Joint Resolution of 1943,” American Political Science Review 37 (August 1943): 691.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

6 Goytía, , Función geográfica del istmo (Panamá, n.d.), pp. 135–136 Google Scholar; E. Jaén Guardia to Secretary of State, 23 March 1942, FR, 1942, 6: 619-622; Wilson to Secretary of State, 21 April 1942, ibid., pp. 622-626.

7 Ernesto, Castillero P., Panamá y los Estados Unidos (Panamá, 1964), p. 302 passim.Google Scholar

8 Jiménez, Enrique, Para la historia; breves capítulos de la gestión política y administrativa de un gobernante liberal (Panamá, 1951), pp. 25–27 Google Scholar; the New York Times, 4 September, 10:3; 13 September, 16:8.

9 Ibid., 3 September, 8:2; 11 December 1947, 28:3; Goytía, Función geográfica, p. 243.

10 Jiménez, , Para la historia, p. 30.Google Scholar

11 Castillero, P., Panamá y los EE. UU., p. 302 passim.Google Scholar Final withdrawal of troops was not completed until February 1948. The New York Times, 21 February 1948,3:7.

12 The New York Times, 25 November 1949, 1:5; 27 November, 1:4.

13 Ibid., 22 May 1950; Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, in Arias, Mensaje … 1° de Octubre de 1950 (Panamá, 1950), p. 19; Memorandum, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Memoria, 1950, Anexos (Panamá, 1950), L/l-L/5.

14 The New York Times, 10 May 1951, 1:4; 11 May, 1:4.

15 Visión, 30 October 1953; White House Press Releases, 1 October 1953, Copy in Office Files 52, Dwight D. Eisenhower Library, Abilene, Kansas (hereinafter cited as DDE).

16 Treaties and Other International Acts Series 3297.

17 United States Citizens Association to the President, “Résumé of the States of the United States Citizen Employee of the Panama Canal,” n.d., in DDE, OF 52; Harding, Earl, in National Economic Council Bulletin (15 August 1954), p. 1.Google Scholar

18 Senate, Committee on Foreign Relations, Hearings on the Panama Treaty (Washington, 1955), pp. 6, 12-13.

19 Statements of L. R. Dilweg, Counsel, U.S.C.A., and of J. A. Brownlow, president, Metal Trades, A.F. of L., in ibid., pp. 78-79; 97-98, respectively.

20 Quoted in ibid., p. 164.

21 Such is the opinion of Isaías Batista Ballesteros, El Drama de Panamá y América (Panama, 1961), p. 81.

22 Senate, Foreign Relations Committee, Hearings on the Panama Treaty, p. 56.Google Scholar

23 Tate, Mercer D., “Panama Canal and Political Partnership,” Journal of Politics 25 (February 1963): 126–127.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

24 Assistant Secretary of State, Department of State, to Bureau of the Budget, 20 July 1956, 30 October 1956; Panama Canal Company to Bureau of the Budget, 17 June 1957; DDE.

25 Ernesto de la Guardia, Jr., Speech, 1 October 1956, in de la Guardia, Teoría y práctica de la democracia: conversaciones con el pueblo, 1955-60 (Panamá 1960), p. 42; Aquilino Boyd, speech, 23 November 1956, in Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Discursos pronunciados … Boyd (Panama, 1956), pp. 15-17.

26 Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Memoria, 1958: Parte Expositiva y Anexos (Panama, 1958), pp. viii-ix, Miguel Moreno, Speech, 23 September 1959, in Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores. Discurso pronunciado … Moreno (Panama, 1959), pp. 20-21; “Panama Canal Troubles,” The Economist 180 (September 1, 1956): 724; Ernesto de la Guardia, Jr., Message to National Assembly, 1 October 1959, in Teoría y práctica, pp. 222-228.

27 King, Thelma, El problema de la soberanía en las relaciones entre Panamá y los EE. UU. (Panamá, 1961), p. 133 Google Scholar; Visión, 20 November 1959, p. 18; the Panama American, 2 November 1959, p. 1.

28 The New York Times, 4 November 1959, 1:3; 5 November 1:2; the Panama American, 4 November 1959, p. 1.

29 The New York Times, 5 November 1959, 3:1; the Panama Star and Herald, 5 November 1959, pp. 1, 4.

30 Star and Herald, 6 November, p. 1; 7 November, p. 4; the Panama American, 6 November, p. 8.

31 La Hora, 5 and 11 November 1959; La Nación, 17 November; clippings in DDE, OF 52.

32 The Panama American, 10 November 1959, p. 1; Bryce Harlow Memorandum, 17 November 1959, DDE, OF 52.

33 The New York Times, 29 November 1959, 1:2; 30 November, 1:6.

34 Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Memoria, 1958, p. xiii.

35 The Panama American, 2 December 1959.

36 La Estrella de Panama, 12 December 1959; La Hora, 7 December 1959; La Nación, 3 December 1959; clippings in DDE, OF 52.

37 This passage is based on contemporary letters in DDE, OF 52.

38 White House Press Release, 17 September 1960, copy in DDE, OF 52.

39 Mail Room Reports, DDE, OF 72-A-12.

40 House Committee on Foreign Affairs (86th Cong., 2d sess.), Report on United States Relations with Panama (House Report No. 2218), pp. 12-15, 38-40.

41 Ibid., pp. 16-31; assistant secretary of the army, Memorandum, 7 July 1960, DDE; administrative assistant to the president to Theodore Green, senator from Rhode Island, 13 August 1960, DDE, OF 209.

42 “Canal Politics,” The Economist 195 (21 May 1960): 733; Goldrich, Daniel, “Requests for Political Legitimacy in Panama,” Public Opinion Quarterly 26 (Winter 1962): 664–668.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

43 Goytía, Victor F., La tragedia del Canal (Panamá, 1966), p. 5 Google Scholar; Batista, B., El drama de Panamá, p. 85 Google Scholar; República de Panamá, Dirección de Estadística y Censo, Algunos aspectos de las transacciones en bienes y servicios entre Panamá y la Zona del Canal de Panamá y de las operaciones generadas dentro de dicha Zona (Panamá, 1964), p. 3.

44 The Center for Strategic Studies, Georgetown University, Panama: Canal Issues and Treaty Talks, Special Report Series no. 3 (Washington, 1967), p. 17 Google Scholar; Kennedy-Chiari Joint Statement, 13 June 1962, in Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: John F. Kennedy, 1962 (Washington, 1963), pp. 481-482.

45 Investigating Committee, International Commission of Jurists, Report on Events in Panama, 9-12 January 1964 (Geneva, 1964), pp. 12-13.

46 The Panama American, 3 January 1964, p. 1; 7 January, p. 1; and 8 January, p. 1; Panama Star and Herald, 8 January, p. 1; Report on Events in Panama, pp. 13-14.

47 Report on Events, pp. 15-19; National Institute Student Guillermo Guevara P., in Panama Star and Herald, 14 January 1964, p. 1.

48 Report on Events in Panama, pp. 20-28.

49 Ibid., pp. 29-32, 33-34; on 11 January, when most of the fighting was over, the Star and Herald listed the casualties: dead: 17 Panamanians, 3 U.S. soldiers; wounded: 293 in Panama City, 46 in the Canal Zone, and 45 in Colón.

50 “The Situation in Panama,” Department of State Bulletin 50 (3 February 1964): 152-157; the Panama American, 11 January 1964, p. 1; 12 January, p. 1; Panama Star and Herald, 11 January, p. 1. Charles Fenwick denies the Panamanian charges of aggression in “Legal Aspects of the Panama Case,” American Journal of International Law 58 (April 1964): 436-441; and Joseph Alsop blames two Communists for the destruction of any early settlement in mid-January 1964. See the New York Herald Tribune, 22 January 1964.

51 Panama Star and Herald, 15 January 1964, p. 1; Allan, Donald and Sharman, George, “Panama: Distrust and Delay,” The Reporter, 27 February 1964, p. 29.Google Scholar

52 “OAS Council Moves to Assist in Solving U.S.-Panamanian Dispute,” Department of State Bulletin 50 (24 February 1964): 300-304; Visión, 7 February 1964, p. 12; Ricord, Humberto, La cuestión del Canal de Panamá (Panamá, 1964), pp. 15–16.Google Scholar

53 Report on Events in Panama, pp. 5-6.

54 Ibid., pp. 36, 37, 40.

55 “Panama—Nationalism and the Canal,” On Record 2 (1964): 41-42; Georgetown University, Panama, pp. 20-21.

56 Ibid., pp. 26, 28.

57 Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Memoria, 1965, pp. 10-11, 25-27.

58 Ibid., pp. 13-14; Lyndon Johnson, speech, 18 December, Department of State Bulletin 52 (4 January 1965): 5-6; Georgetown University, Panama, pp. 22- 23.

59 Flood, Daniel, Isthmian Canal Policy Questions (Washington, 1966), p. 519.Google Scholar

60 Mrs. Leonor Sullivan, 23 September 1965, in Congressional Record, 111: 24942.

61 James J. Kilpatrick in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, 4 October 1965; editorials in the Chicago Tribune, 28 June 1967; San Diego Union, 30 June 1967; and New York Daily News, 8 July 1967; clippings in Panama Canal Information Office Files, Balboa Heights, Canal Zone: hereinafter cited as PCIO Files.

62 Editorials in the Washington Daily News, 25 September 1965; New Haven Register, 27 September 1965; Houston Chronicle, 27 September 1965; Des Moines Tribune, 27 September 1965; Dallas Times-Herald, 28 September 1965; Wichita Eagle, 28 September 1965; Detroit News, 28 September 1965; Arizona Republic, 29 September 1965; St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 30 September 1965; Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 30 September 1965; Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, 6 July 1967; Florida Times-Union, 28 June 1967; Boston Globe, 28 June 1967; Chicago Daily News, 19 June 1967; and Cincinnati Post, 3 July 1967; clippings PCIO files.

63 This is an unofficial digest of the treaty's contents as it appeared in the Panama Tribune, 15 July 1967, pp. 1, 8, 12.

64 Ibid., pp. 1, 14, 16. For a discussion of a new canal see Klette, Immanuel J., From Atlantic to Pacific: A New Interocean Canal (New York: Council on Foreign Relations, 1967).Google Scholar The future of the canal treaties is uncertain. The Panamanian National Assembly has not approved the documents and, according to a Department of State official, the Panamanian government is considering renewed negotiations on new treaties. Attorney Advisor, Department of State, to author, 8 May 1970.