Hundreds of police sealed off blocks of the capital Thursday as President Bush traveled here on the heels of violent anti-U.S. protests and an attack by gunmen that killed an American soldier.
Demonstrators shouting "Bush, assassin!" rampaged Wednesday through a downtown plaza being readied for a speech by the president.Riot police used tear gas to repel the demonstrators after they set fire to red, white and blue bunting around the flatbed trailer that was to serve as a platform for Bush.
The protesters, angry with Bush for ordering the December 1989 invasion that ousted Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega, also torched garbage, kicked over portable toilets and slashed tree branches.
Sorita Saenz lives near the El Chorillo slum, devastated by the invasion. "We didn't ask for an invasion," Saenz said Thursday. "We didn't ask to die. But Bush, the assassin, just left us here, and he should pay."
At least 325 people were killed and hundreds of millions of dollars in property were destroyed when U.S. troops poured into Panama to seize Noriega.
The United States has since razed square blocks of buildings and invested $58 million for reconstruction and resettlement of about 2,700 families who lost their homes.
But work has been slow, and displaced families are demanding about 50 percent more than the $6,800 each was to have received from Washington. Also, resentment still smolders over what many Panamanians feel was a challenge to their sovereignty.
Officers armed with clear plastic shields and red tear gas canisters had sealed off the plaza by daybreak, and the sting of the gas still hung in the air.
Elsewhere, hundreds of police sealed off the motorcade route from the airport and diverted traffic and pedestrians from downtown blocks.
The Panamanian government issued a stern warning against further violent protests, saying it "would not tolerate any actions that would imperil the democratic system."
Criticizing those he called pro-Noriega demonstrators, Justice Minister Juan Chevalier declared, "They want to return to the past, to go back to the dictator." He said those who believed the government would tolerate any unrest during Bush's visit "are mistaken."
At least six people were arrested in Wednesday's violence.