Emperors in the Jungle: The Hidden History of the U.S. in Panama

277 Pages·2003·1.862 MB·English

by  John Lindsay-Poland

EMPERORS IN THE JUNGLE
american encounters / global interactions
A Series Edited by Gilbert M. Joseph and Emily S. Rosenberg
This series aims to stimulate critical perspectives and fresh interpretive
frameworks for scholarship on the history of the imposing global pres-
ence of the United States. Its primary concerns include the deployment
and contestation of power, the construction and deconstruction of cul-
tural and political borders, the fluid meanings of intercultural encoun-
ters, and the complex interplay between the global and the local. Ameri-
can Encounters seeks to strengthen dialogue and collaboration between
historians of U.S. international relations and area studies specialists.
The series encourages scholarship based on multiarchival historical
research. At the same time, it supports a recognition of the representa-
tional character of all stories about the past and promotes critical in-
quiry into issues of subjectivity and narrative. In the process, American
Encounters strives to understand the context in which meanings related
to nations, cultures, and political economy are continually produced,
challenged, and reshaped.

JOHN LINDSAY-POLAND
EMPERORS IN THE JUNGLE
THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF THE U.S. IN PANAMA
Duke University Press Durham and London 2003
∫ 2003 Duke University Press
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States of America on acid-free paper $
Designed by C. H. Westmoreland
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-
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To those who seek the truth.
May their curiosity and vision be strong.

CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
1 A Platform for Control: Interventions and
Army Doctors, 1856–1925 11
2 ‘‘Test Tube Island’’ 44
3 The Nuclear Canal 74
4 Playing the Drug Card 103
5 The Politics of Environmental Cover-up 138
6 Market Mania 172
7 Continuity and Change in the Military’s Vision 191
Afterword: Knowing Ourselves
Exhortation to Read a Friendly Text
by Guillermo Castro H. 207
Notes 211
Index 253

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book is borne on the contributions of many individuals whom I
can never adequately thank. More than that, it would not have been
possible without the dedication of many people to social movements
that seek the truth about the past and justice in the future. In that
respect, I am grateful to the many organizations in Panama with whom
I had the fortune to collaborate, and to the Fellowship of Reconcilia-
tion, which gave me the opportunity to work on Panama for more than
a decade.
For teaching me about Panama, I thank Orlando Acosta, Jesús
Alemancia, Mariela Arce, Olier Avila, Ramiro Castrejon, Marco Gan-
dásegui, Jaime Espinoza González, Arturo Griffiths, Sayda de Gri-
maldo, Tomás Guardia, Raúl Leis, Fernando Manfredo Jr., Gonzalo
Menéndez, Juan Méndez, Rodrigo Noriega, Conrado Sanjur, Walter
Smith, Nicolasa Terreros, and Lamoin Werlein-Jaén. I am thankful
to the many people who spoke with me about the U.S. military and
Panama, many of whom are cited in this book, and some of whom
preferred to withhold their names.
Researchers rely profoundly on reference librarians. I am indebted
to the staff of the San Francisco Public Library, U.S. Army History
Institute, and Jimmy Carter Presidential Library, and to Martin Gor-
don of the Army Corps of Engineers Archives, Richard Boylan of
the National Archives, Steve Wofford of the Livermore Laboratory
archives, and Bryan Stoneburner of the Naval Postgraduate School
Library.
For help in obtaining important documents and articles, I am grate-
ful to Fernando Eleta Casanova, Henry Heitman, Eric Jackson, Betty
Brannan Jaén, Rafael Pérez Jaramillo, Nick Morgan, Henry Raymont,
Craig Reinarman, Juan Antonio Samudio, Nathan and Joy Schnur-
man, Lenny Siegel, and Rick Stauber. Rick and I formed an unusual
alliance—an explosives expert and a pacifist—in the quest for U.S.
accountability for ordnance left behind in Panama. Neil Popovic gave
legal assistance with Freedom of Information Act (foia) requests that
yielded significant new information. On the receiving end of foia