The president also received broad bipartisan congressional
backing for the brief U.S. invasion of Panama on December 20,
1989, that deposed dictator General Manuel Antonio Noriega. In
the 1980s, addiction to crack cocaine reached epidemic
proportions, and President Bush put the "War on Drugs" at the
center of his domestic agenda. Moreover, Noriega, an especially
brutal dictator, had attempted to maintain himself in power with
rather crude displays of anti-Americanism. After seeking refuge
in the Vatican embassy, Noriega turned himself over to U.S.
authorities. He was later tried and convicted in U.S. federal
court in Miami, Florida, of drug trafficking and racketeering.
On the economic front, the Bush administration negotiated the
North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Mexico and
Canada. It would be ratified after an intense debate in the
first year of the Clinton administration.
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