The finding took place in the old Cerro Batea cemetery, in the district of San Miguelito, where archaeological survey work began on August 20.

During the invasion in December 1989, Bonilla Terrero’s body was informally buried in Cerro Batea Community Cemetery, which was already in disuse.

On December 20, 1989, the United States invaded Panama with the aim of capturing then-General Manuel Antonio Noriega (1934-2017) in a mission they dubbed “Just Cause.”

That day, the US Army mobilized 26,000 soldiers and used state-of-the-art weapons in a bloody invasion that left an unknown number of victims more than three decades later: the commission has a record of 441 dead, but unofficially, Panamanian figures suggest up to 4,000 civilian deaths. Many of the bodies ended up in mass graves, many of them located in Peace Garden in Panama City. Years later, human remains are still being found, but identification is a slow process that involves complex processes such as DNA testing.

In addition to the human losses, this aggression caused the destruction of much of the isthmus’s infrastructure, leaving thousands homeless. American troops made no effort to limit themselves to military targets and avoid harming civilian lives and property.

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