| 1968 Panamanian coup d'état | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Government of Panama | National Guard of Panama | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Arnulfo Arias Madrid | Boris Martínez Jose Humberto Ramos Rubén Darío Paredes | ||||||
The1968 Panamanian coup d'état was the militarycoup that took place in theRepublic of Panama on October 11, 1968, when theNational Guard, led by MajorBoris Martínez, Lieutenant ColonelJose Humberto Ramos,Rubén Darío Paredes and other military officers overthrew PresidentArnulfo Arias, who was elected in theMay 12 general election and assumed office on October 1.
On Friday, October 11, 1968, theNational Guard deposed PresidentArnulfo Arias, who was in a movie theater inPanama City. Upon learning of the events, he took refuge in thePanama Canal Zone under the control of theUnited States Army. MajorBoris Martínez (fromChiriquí Province) and Lieutenant ColonelJose Humberto Ramos (fromSantiago,Veraguas Province) commanded the coup. The "Provisional Junta of Government", led by colonelsJosé María Pinilla Fábrega andBolívar Urrutia Parrilla, would be imposed.[1]
On October 12, the newspaperEl Mundo (the only one which circulated that day) indicated that amilitary junta took power, without mentioning the names of its members, and that National Guard troops with machine guns surrounded the residence of Arnulfo Arias, who managed to take refuge in the Panama Canal Zone. The newspaper also reported that sporadic shots were heard "in theslum areas of Panama City," while the director ofHospital Santo Tomás stated that a man and a woman were shot and wounded. The newspaper warned that all civil rights had been suspended.
During 1968, guerrilla activity was registered in the urban area and in the interior of the country by theFederación de Estudiantes de Panamá and other organizations, as well as supporters of deposed President Arias. There were military acts against the National Guard, the closing of newspapers and the development of the issue of pamphlets and clandestine writings.[1][2]
Having received news of the coup while in the Panama Canal Zone, Lieutenant ColonelOmar Torrijos and a few officers, including businessmanDemetrio B. Lakas, sought to re-establish some form of civilian rule, even attempting to install President Arias' vice-president,Raul Arango as the new president, much to Martínez's dismay.[3] Although the "Provisional Junta of Government" was appointed, Martinez and Torrijos were the true leaders from the beginning. Soon after the coup, Torrijos was promoted to full colonel and named commandant of the National Guard. They barred all political activity and shut down the legislature. They also seized control of three newspapers owned by President Arias' brother,Harmodio and blackmailed the owners of the country's oldest newspaper,La Estrella de Panamá, into becoming agovernment mouthpiece.
With enough opposition against Martinez including from theUnited States, Torrijos ousted and exiled Martínez and Jose Humberto Ramos toMiami on February 23, 1969, nearly four months after the initial coup.[3]
Torrijos went on to rule Panama as thede facto military dictator until his death in aplane crash on July 23, 1981.[3]