Encircling The Vatican Embassy
On the fifth day of the American invasion, Noriega phoned Monsignor Laboa at the Vatican embassy and explained he would appreciate being able to seek sanctuary within; noting that he would otherwise have to flee to the countryside and wage a guerrilla war. Given only ten minutes to decide, Laboa said he did not confer with the Vatican, but agreed to allow Noriega to enter the Vatican grounds - although from the very start, he confessed that he deceived Noriega, noting that he believed that Panamanian politics necessitated that his own role be to convince Noriega to surrender to the American army, not to grant him asylum within Vatican territory. Laboa later confided he was "surprised and dismayed" that Noriega would choose to seek refuge with the Church.
Noriega fled to the Apostolic Nuncio, the de facto embassy of Vatican City, and took refuge there with four others, Lieut. Colonel Nivaldo Madrinan, head of Panama's secret police; Captain Eliecer Gaitan, who led the special force charged with protecting Noriega; Belgica de Castillo, the former head of the immigration department, and her husband Carlos Castillo. He turned over the majority of his weapons, and requested sanctuary within. He spent his time in a "stark" room with no air conditioning or television, reading the Bible for the duration of his stay.
American soldiers set up a perimeter outside this building, as any direct action against the embassy itself would have violated international law and enraged Roman Catholics worldwide.
Secretary of State James Baker wrote to the Vatican, insisting that "this is an exception to diplomatic immunity. We've indicted him as a drug dealer...you must understand that having lost American lives to restore democracy in Panama, we cannot allow Noriega to go to any other country than the United States".
Joaquin Navarro-Valls, speaking on behalf of the Vatican, clarified that the strong messages left by American diplomats and military leaders would not be obeyed and Noriega would not be turned over. Navarro-Valls clarified that the Pope had not spoken on the issue except to lament the deaths caused by "absurd imprudence".
The army turned to psychological warfare, blaring rock music at "deafening levels", gunning the engines of armoured vehicles against the Vatican fence, and setting fire to a neighboring field and bulldozing it to create a "helicopter landing zone". Reportedly the song "I Fought The Law" by The Clash was played repeatedly.
On December 27, the psychological warfare was turned over to the control of the 4th Psychological Operations Group of Special Operations Command. The Holy See complained to President George H.W. Bush about actions of the American soldiers surrounding the embassy, and after three days, the rock music was stopped.
On December 30, the Vatican clarified that it did not believe Noriega had asylum, "but a person in refuge". Meanwhile, Monsignor Laboa petitioned both Panama and the Vatican to agree to extend the embassy property to include another building; where he had Noriega's four companions moved to prevent them from encouraging Noriega to stay under Vatican sanctuary - allowing him to convince Noriega to leave. A friend of Laboa later told the UPI that Laboa wanted to "go to work on Noriega, weave a sort of spell around him until he gives in".
Read more about this topic: Operation Nifty Package
Famous quotes containing the word encircling:
“It is so rare to meet with a man outdoors who cherishes a worthy thought in his mind, which is independent of the labor of his hands. Behind every man’s busy-ness there should be a level of undisturbed serenity and industry, as within the reef encircling a coral isle there is always an expanse of still water, where the depositions are going on which will finally raise it above the surface.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)