The Panama Deception

An Oscar winner for this year's Best Documentary, Barbara Trent's powerful indictment of the U.S. government's invasion of Panama on December 19, 1989, shows the human side of the "drug bust" story detailed in Bill Moyers' Listening to America: What Price the Drug War? (reviewed in our November 1991 issue). Elizabeth Montgomery (TV's "Bewitched") narrates this hard-hitting chronicle which disputes the "official" version of the invasion reported by the Pentagon and news media. Tracing the historical path that led to the invasion, from Carter's signing away rights to the Panama Canal to the military occupation of the Canal zone in the wake of the invasion, The Panama Deception is an infuriating and relentless eye-opener about Bush's contrived invasion that had less to do with bringing drug lord Manuel Noriega to trial than with big business interests and Bush's effort, as one sage commentator put it, "to deny the wimp factor in spades." Combining never-before-seen footage of the invasion, eyewitness reports, and interviews with journalists, military and Pentagon members, and U.S. government officials, the film makes a compelling case against both the government and the media complicity in slanted reporting of the invasion. Although hailed as a victory in the U.S. press, the invasion was soundly denounced by the United Nations as a "flagrant violation" which also seriously abridged Panamanian civil rights. Just how seriously is chillingly recounted here, as the "official" reports of 250 or less civilians dead are countered by claims of between 2,500-4,000 killed. The discovery of mass graves where bodies were hidden, confessions that experimental laser guns were used on people during the invasion, and evidence that U.S. soldiers put row after row of residential housing to the torch (an estimated 20,000 Panamanians lost their homes) stand in stark contrast to the jubilant interviews of liberated Panamanians that Americans were treated to in the wake of the invasion (of course, these were upscale English-speaking people living away from the poor, congested areas that were struck the hardest). The Panama Deception is not an easy film to watch (there are many stomach-churning shots of mutilation and carnage), but it is an important one. Americans have the right to know what is carried out abroad under the aegis of the American flag: the corporate-controlled news media do not always honor that right. Fortunately, independent documentary filmmakers like Barbara Trent (whose award-winning Cover Up: Iran-Contra Affair told another sordid tale) are looking for something a little less tangible but a whole lot more important than either ratings or paychecks: the truth. For some, it's still a concern. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (Available from: The Video Project, 5332 College Ave., Suite 101, Oakland, CA 94618; (800) 4-PLANET.)