The Raid at Renacer Prison was an attack on the El Renacer prison in

Gamboa, Panama Gamboa is a small town in corregimiento of Cristóbal in the Colón Province, Panama close to the Panama Canal and the Chagres River. It was one of a handful of permanent Canal Zone townships, built to house employees of the Panama Canal and ...

, by units of the

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an airborne infantry division of the United States Army specializing in parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops Magazine'', 25 November 2012. Archived from tho ...

of the US Army on 20 December 1989, during the

United States invasion of Panama The United States invasion of Panama, codenamed Operation Just Cause, lasted over a month between mid-December 1989 and late January 1990. It occurred during the administration of President George H. W. Bush and ten years after the Torrijos� ...

. During the raid the U.S. military freed the sixty-four prisoners held in the detention facility and killed 5 soldiers of the

Panama Defense Forces The Panama Defense Forces ( es, Fuerzas de Defensa de Panamá; FFDD) and formerly the National Guard of Panama, were the armed forces of the Republic of Panama. It was created in 1983 led by General Manuel Antonio Noriega and his general staff. ...

. The U.S. force consisted of eighty paratroopers along with three

UH-1 The Bell UH-1 Iroquois (nicknamed "Huey") is a utility military helicopter designed and produced by the American aerospace company Bell Helicopter. It is the first member of the prolific Huey family, as well as the first turbine-powered helico ...

helicopters, two

OH-58 The Bell OH-58 Kiowa is a family of single-engine single- rotor military helicopters used for observation, utility, and direct fire support. It was produced by the American manufacturer Bell Helicopter and is closely related to the Model 206A ...

scout helicopters, one (LCM) landing craft medium, and one

AH-1 Cobra The Bell AH-1 Cobra is a single-engined attack helicopter developed and manufactured by the American rotorcraft manufacturer Bell Helicopter. A member of the prolific Huey family, the AH-1 is also referred to as the HueyCobra or Snake. The AH ...

. The raiding force was made up of units drawn from the 7th Infantry Division, the

, Company C of the 3rd Battalion of the

504th Parachute Infantry Regiment The 504th Infantry Regiment, originally the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment (504th PIR), is an airborne forces regiment of the United States Army, part of the 82nd Airborne Division, with a long and distinguished history. The regiment was f ...

, the 1st Battalion of the 228th Aviation Regiment, the 307th Engineer Battalion, and the 1097th Transportation Company.

Plan

Renacer Prison sits beside the Panama Canal, roughly halfway across the Isthmus. Relative to other prisons it's not large. The fenced yard measures no more than forty by seventy meters. The prison itself is a collection of around 20 cinderblock and wood buildings, all with tin roofs. By December 1989, the Noriega regime had filled it with political prisoners, many from the abortive coup of the previous October. Among the inmates were several Americans. The American plan involved a simultaneous air assault and amphibious landing at 1 am on 20 December in which two Hueys, each carrying 11 paratroopers, would land in the cramped prison yard. The door gunners would proceed to engage specific targets. Meanwhile, an AH-1 "Cobra" attack helicopter from the 7th Infantry Division would fire into the guards' barracks. The assault element, which was part of the 2nd Platoon, would then immediately search and secure the prisoners' barracks, the recreation building, and the other two major buildings. At the same time, the remainder of the 2nd Platoon would land from landing craft (LCM) on the canal side to provide fire support and security for the assault. The 3rd Platoon would also be on the LCM. Their part of the mission was to clear and secure the remaining buildings outside the prison's wire fence. One OH-58 scout helicopter carried a company sniper. Finally a third Huey, carrying ten scouts, would land outside the prison to prevent any attempt by the PDF to reinforce the prisons garrison.

References

{{reflist 20th-century military history of the United States Military raids Conflicts in 1989

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

December 1989 events in the United States Invasions by the United States 1989 in Panama Airborne operations Invasions of Panama Prison raids December 1989 events in North America United States invasion of Panama

Plan

See also

References