Torrijos is killed in a plane crash. Torrijos' onetime chief of intelligence, Gen. Manuel Noriega, assumes control of Panama after successfully outmaneuvering several other officers. Hugo Spadafora, Noriega's most prominent political enemy, is murdered, touching off four years of escalating internal unrest and tension with the United States. The United States invades Panama, toppling Noriega in a matter of hours. Corozal, the final U.S. military base in the country, is returned to Panama.
Ceremonies mark the changeover in control of the canal.
The canal comes under Panamanian control.