ANNOUNCER: Bringing you the world for 20 years, this is CNN.</s>CARL ROCHELLE, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, the U.S. was invading Panama because it, quite frankly, it had enough of the Noriega government. They'd accused him of dealing in drugs, they'd accused him of abusing his citizens and abusing rights and picking on the U.S. military facilities which were in the area, threatening the U.S. soldiers and sailors who are operating around the area of Panama. And the U.S. felt like it had a legitimate right to be there. The operation was put together and the planes flew out of Fort Bragg with 82nd Airborne, paratroopers to drop them in.</s>JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN MIAMI BUREAU CHIEF: It was a perfectly executed invasion. And of course the U.S. had the advantage of having bases in Panama, so it didn't take them long for the operation to be successful. Of course they didn't get Noriega right away. He went to the Papal Nuncio and was held up at the residence, the house of the Papal Nuncio in Panama.</s>LUCIA NEWMAN, CNN HAVANA BUREAU CHIEF: The standoff at the Vatican embassy in Panama went on for days and days and days. I remember there were demonstrations outside of that embassy by thousands of Panamanians demanding that he finally step down from power. When Gen. Noriega finally did surrender, there was -- there were mass demonstrations out on the streets of Panama, people going out and cheering, hugging the American soldiers, hugging the journalists, hugging everyone, because they felt that finally now Panama could have a new beginning.
CNN 20: U.S. Invades Panama, December 20, 1989