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Biography of Omar TorrijosName: Omar TorrijosBirth Date: February 13, 1929 Death Date: August 1, 1981 Place of Birth: Santiago, Panama Nationality: Panamanian Gender: Male Occupations: politician Omar Torrijos Omar Torrijos (1929-1981) was not only Panama's most famous leader in that country's history but also one of Latin America's best-known figures of the 20th century. He achieved this distinction for one reason--Torrijos, a military man in a small republic whose civilian presidents had generally accommodated American wishes over the years, successfully negotiated new canal and defense treaties with the most powerful nation in the world.Omar Torrijos (O-mar Toe-REE-hose) Herrera (Torrijos was Omar's father's family name; Herrera his mother's maiden name) was born on February 13, 1929, in the small town of Santiago, which is located about 100 miles southwest of Panama's capital, Panama City. (Panama runs east-west not north-south.) Omar's parents taught school but early on, apparently, he decided on a military career. He went to El Salvador's famous military school and took more training in the United States and Venezuela. He joined the Panamanian national guard as a second lieutenant …showed first 150 words…
…showed last 150 words…to the capitalists. When Torrijos provided the shah of Iran with sanctuary in December 1979, there were riots that the National Guard quashed with clubs and fire hoses. Yet, in the preceding years, Torrijos had provided a safe haven for Sandinista rebels in their war against the Somoza government in Nicaragua.When Torrijos died in a plane crash near Penonomé on August 1, 1981, Panama lost its most ardently nationalistic figure. In achieving the long-standing Panamanian goal of a new treaty and an end to the Canal Zone, Torrijos had gained for Panama, and for himself, a stature virtually unequalled by any other Latin American republic in modern times. Associated Events Panama Canal Treaty, 1978 Further Reading Torrijos' importance in Panama's history is discussed in Walter LaFeber, The Panama Canal (1978); Graham Greene, Getting To Know the General (1984); David Farnsworth and James McKenney, U.S.-Panama Relations, 1903-1978 (1983); and Paul Ryan, The Panama Canal Controversy (1977). |