The area, which had been administered by the United States, came under Panamanian sovereignty in 1979, although it is still referred to locally as the Canal Zone.

Only the clear recovery of full Panamanian sovereignty in the coming months can secure an enduring triumph.

He possibly said this because Panamanian sovereignty has been at stake with the United States until 2000, when the Panama Canal was given back.

But he wrote and published nationalist poems and articles attacking the US presence in Panama as an affront to attacking to Panamanian sovereignty.

The most controversial provision of the constitution was that which gave the United States the right to intervene to guarantee Panamanian sovereignty and to preserve order.

Since the 1977 treaties, American residents of the Canal Zone have been living under Panamanian sovereignty.

Appeals to Nationalism The new measures followed declarations by General Noriega in which he presented himself as defending Panamanian sovereignty against American aggression.

General Noriega has sought to present himself as the defender of Panamanian sovereignty against an American destabilization campaign.

An international law analysis bears out United States violation of Panamanian sovereignty and territorial integrity no less egregious than Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.

December 31: The Panama Canal Zone reverts to Panamanian sovereignty at noon, after nearly a century of American control.