INSURRECTION IN PANAMA : 12,000 U.S. Troops Stationed in Panama
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WASHINGTON — There are 40,000 to 50,000 Americans in Panama, including more than 12,000 troops stationed there under a treaty with the Panamanian government, U.S. sources said Tuesday as fighting flared between supporters and opponents of strongman Manuel A. Noriega.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said U.S. citizens in the country are being asked to stay home. The U.S. Southern Command put its troops and civilian employes on the isthmus on Delta Alert, its highest state of readiness.
Boucher said there are 48 employees in the U.S. Embassy.
Defense Department spokesman Pete Williams said American military personnel in Panama have been ordered to stay put and not to travel outside the U.S.-owned facilities.
Dependents were moved onto U.S. military installations July 1 because of rising tensions.
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