Panama (PAN)Central America, AmericasSeptember 25, 1985
Event Summary
In late September 1985 President Nicolas Ardito Barletta of Panama was forced to resign by the Panama Defense Forces under the de facto ruler General Manuel Noriega, after Barletta moved to investigate the murder of the opposition figure Hugo Spadafora. Barletta had become president in 1984 through an election widely regarded as fraudulent, engineered by Noriega, who held real power behind the civilian presidency. In September 1985 the decapitated body of Noriega critic Hugo Spadafora was found near the Costa Rican border, and Barletta, then in New York, announced he would appoint an independent commission to investigate.
On his return to Panama he was forced by the Defense Forces to resign, and was replaced by Vice President Eric Arturo Delvalle. Barletta was not physically harmed. His removal soured US relations with Noriega.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Target identified in Coup Atlas research: President Nicolas Ardito Barletta, forced to resign in late September 1985 by the Panama Defense Forces under Noriega; he was not physically harmed.
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Nicolas Ardito Barletta (president forced to resign)
Manuel Noriega (de facto ruler behind the removal)
Eric Arturo Delvalle (vice president who succeeded him)
Sources
Barletta, who was in New York City when Spadafora was murdered in September 1985, announced his intention to appoint an independent commission to investigate the murder, but upon his return to Panama he was forced to resign by the PDF and was replaced by Vice President Eric Arturo Delvalle.
SOURCE REVIEWEDWikipedia, Manuel Noriegaopen source ↗
Noriega's relationship with the U.S. deteriorated in the late 1980s after the murder of Hugo Spadafora and the forced resignation of President Nicolas Ardito Barletta, and Noriega was the de facto ruler of Panama from 1983 to 1989, ruling as an unelected military dictator through puppet presidents.
SOURCE REVIEWEDWikipedia, Manuel Noriegaopen source ↗
In May 1984 Noriega allowed the first presidential elections in 16 years, and he and Diaz Herrera picked Nicolas Ardito Barletta Vallarino to be the PRD's candidate with the intention of keeping him under close control, halting the count and manipulating the results when the opposition candidate Arias appeared to be winning, so that the government announced Barletta had won by a slim margin.
SOURCE REVIEWEDWikipedia, Manuel Noriegaopen source ↗
Barletta was highly regarded in the Reagan administration, and his removal brought a downturn in relations between the U.S. and Noriega, after which the U.S. began to view Noriega as a liability rather than an asset.
SOURCE REVIEWEDWikipedia, Manuel Noriegaopen source ↗
Editorial Note
Coding note: the dataset labels this a military coup with a not-physically-harmed fate; the Panama Defense Forces under General Noriega forced the civilian president Barletta to resign, and he was not harmed, matching the fate. The dataset dates this September 25, 1985; the forced resignation followed Barletta's return from New York in late September 1985, and the late-September timing is recorded. Arc link: this connects to the two 1982 Panama records in this enrichment (Paredes ousting the Guard commander Florez and forcing out President Royo); it marks a further stage in the National Guard, later the Panama Defense Forces, consolidating control, now under Noriega as de facto ruler. Trigger recorded: Barletta's move to investigate the murder of Noriega critic Hugo Spadafora, whose decapitated body was found near the Costa Rican border in September 1985, is the documented cause. Historical weight recorded: the removal soured US-Noriega relations and began the deterioration that led to Noriega's 1988 indictment and the 1989 US invasion of Panama, later context. Coding nuance: because the dataset tracks the Panamanian presidency as effectively controlled by the military strongman, it treats this forced resignation as a coup.
Cross-Reference
Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.
Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: President Nicolas Ardito Barletta, forced to resign in late September 1985 by the Panama Defense Forces under Noriega; he was not physically harmed..
Baseline coding: Incumbent executive removed from power. Recorded leader fate: deposed; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.
Baseline Dataset Citation
Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset, v2.2.2
Peyton, Buddy, Joseph Bajjalieh, Michael Martin, and Andrea Gerald. 2026. Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset. Cline Center for Advanced Social Research. V.2.2.2. February 17. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. doi: 10.13012/B2IDB-9651987_V10
⚑ This citation establishes the coded baseline record; use the claim-level sources above for the researched narrative.
Baseline Source-Document Entries
CSP
Named in the baseline source document; no article citation was recorded.
Globe and Mail
“Coup foiled in Panama,” September 15, 1983
The Guardian
“No denial on Panama Coup attempt,” September 17, 1983
This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →