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Through night-vision equipment, Michael Durant viewed as 2 heavy precision bombs impacted onto the Panama's airbase while he hovered off the country's southern shoreline in a military helicopter.

"A massive flash, coming by a blast ... similar to the largest lightning bolt strike you've ever seen in your life," the retired American army pilot described of the initial strike of the Battle of Rio Hato's Air Base in the month of December 1989.

Historical Parallels

The stealth aircraft assault and subsequent military special forces assault represented the commencement of Operation Just Cause - intended to dethrone the Panamanian military leader, General Noriega.

The pilot and his colleagues had directives to take control of the Panamanian Defense Force installation to block soldiers coming to the dictator's rescue. Over the subsequent period, the aviator and more than 25,000 other American military personnel hunted the dictator, who eventually surrendered on 3 January 1990.

"The dictator was a terrible individual ... and he needed to be ousted," said Durant.

Current Armed Forces Movements

Remembrances of Just Cause have resurfaced in recent weeks' time after President Trump ordered the biggest US military deployment in South America and the Caribbean since the time of that military intervention almost four decades' ago.

A significant portion of American naval assets - comprising the planet's largest naval vessel, the USS Ford - have been sent to the region since last August, with strategic bombers and special forces observed off Venezuelan north shoreline. Military strikes on alleged drug ships in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean have killed over 60 persons.

Official vs Suspected Goals

Officially, the positioning of warships, military unmanned aircraft and about 10,000 service troops is a component of a operation on South American drug traffickers who Trump claims of flooding the United States with illegal substances. But many think Trump's actual objective is toppling Venezuela's ruler, Nicolás Maduro, just as George HW Bush removed Noriega prior to he was prosecuted and imprisoned in the United States.

Opposition Viewpoints

Several figures of Venezuelan political opposition appear enthusiastic for a recurrence of the Panama operation, on an even larger scale. The overseas politician Leopoldo López lately expressed endorsement for a American intervention to remove Maduro, who is generally considered to have stolen the previous presidential election.

"It's not to be the messenger of negative information, but it looks like we are about to begin on another government overthrow operation, comparable to, the coming week's time," declared Tucker Carlson last week, flagging the Iraq war as a primary case of the United States' unsuccessful track record of government overthrows that backfired.

"It rarely succeeds - but we are doing it another time, apparently," Carlson added.

American and Specialist Perspective

A recent study found almost half of US citizens resistant to employing military action to oust Maduro with just 18% in favor.

The retired pilot also had doubts, despite regarding the Panama operation the most successful assignment of his two-decade army service. He was certain US troops could overthrow Maduro, as they had Noriega. "We have tremendous capacity and excellent troops. But would it be worth putting all that at jeopardy?" asked Durant.

Before the Panama operation, many of American troops were stationed in Panama, Durant observed, but the US has no similar deployment in the country.

Strategic Analysis

The situation was additionally unknown how prepared Maduro's Bolivarian troops were of combating against an invasion. "That to me is the biggest wildcard," Durant remarked. "The Venezuelan military do impressive military displays. But what can they really do? Are they equipped? Are they resourced? Are they prepared to resist? Are they devoted?"

Past Comparisons

Historian Grow, a historian who authored research about American presidents and South American Cold War actions, saw "notable comparisons" to past military actions.

In the year 1988, on the eve of Just Cause, the US charged Noriega for drug smuggling - just as they have with Maduro who lately had a fifty million dollar reward placed on his head for allegedly leading a "narco-terrorist" organization. "So ... they've established a useful pretext if they decide to pursue a military path," Grow said.

Potential Scenarios

"But I do not think it's on the cards with this administration ... These officials are not neocons. They're much more America First ... I just don't envision the United States getting entangled in a ground conflict in the continent," Grow continued, though he did not discount "precision attack unmanned operations"

James Story, the United States' chief representative for Venezuela from 2018 to 2023, additionally doubted a Just Cause-style onslaught was imminent: "We usually prefer massive strength and it would need 100,000 forces - and that's not this administration's style."

Alternative Approaches

But the former diplomat - who at first viewed the administration's armed forces deployment posturing - now saw an 80% probability of "certain proactive measure" on Venezuelan soil in the following 30 days, possibly an bombing. "Our level of resources that have been deployed in the region suggest to me that we're preparing