Panama and NAFTA |
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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. |
Directions: Read the text above, then answer the
questions below. |
1. What country was invaded by the United
States in December of 1989? 2. Who was Manuel Noriega? 3. Of what was Noriega convicted in United
States federal court? 4. What does the acronym NAFTA stand for?
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here to print this worksheet. |
Text courtesy of the U.S. State Department,
Bureau of International Information Programs, 2005 |