Dignity Battalions

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The Dignity Battalions were paramilitary combatants under the Manuel Noriega Regime in Panama in the 1980s to suppress dissent and terrorize the opposition. They carried out arrests, torture and murder of political opponents, and were disbanded after the U.S. invasion in 1989.

In the controversial presidential elections of May 1989, all of the political parties against Noriega banded behind a unified ticket of Guillermo Endara Galimany, along with vice presidential candidates Ricardo Arias-Calderon and Guillermo "Billy" Ford.[1] The Panamanian government decided to proceed with the election; Noriega's candidate lost by a large margin, too great for Noriega's intended rigging mechanism to sway the vote. Even Noriega's own troops, bussed around all day to vote repeatedly, often voted against him. Noriega canceled the election rather than display the results. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, there as an observer, denounced Noriega, saying the election had been "stolen". Jimmy Carter neglected to indicate that the elections had already been tampered with when the United States backed Noriega's opposition by funding their campaign with millions of dollars, a blatant violation of international law. Bishop Marcos McGrath did as well. Amid the outcry, Noriega unleashed his Dignity Battalions to suppress demonstrations. In an image caught on video and played out in news sources around the world, they attacked Billy Ford's car. Ford's bodyguards were shot and killed. Covered in blood from the bodyguards, Billy Ford attempted to flee as one member of the Dignity Battalions pummeled him repeatedly with a metal pipe. This image brought worldwide attention to Noriega's regime. The other two political candidates were also severely beaten.

The leader of the battalions, appointed by Noriega, was Benjamin Colamarco, current Minister of Public Works (2006) under President Martín Torrijos' administration.