The World - News from Aug. 24, 1989

The United States attacked Panama’s Gen. Manuel A. Noriega for having “turned Panama into a haven for drug traffickers” threatening the entire hemisphere and called on the Organization of American States to “isolate this outlaw regime.” But the 31 OAS member delegations meeting in Washington declined to take action against Noriega, adopting instead a mild plea that Panamanians make “new and urgent efforts to reach a national accord.” The U.S. bitterly reminded the ministers that Panamanians who voted for opposition candidates May 7 were met with “Noriega’s iron pipes and rifle butts, hired mobs and prison cells.”