Panamanians Protest in Streets of Capitol

PANAMA CITY, Panama--Demonstrators protesting the strongman leadership of Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega erected barricades yesterday on hundreds of streets in Panama City.

Earlier yesterday, Foreign Minister Jorge Abadia charged that U.S. military maneuvers along the Panama Canal were "a prelude to an armed invasion."

Small groups of demonstrators, most of them young, built barricades of garbage, tires, street signs and dry palm fronds in central and eastern parts of the capital.

Scores of barriers were set afire and plumes of black smoke rose over the city. The protesters ran when approached by riot troops, whose heavy deployment prevented larger demonstrations.

Many shopkeepers closed early.

Police and soldiers jumped from trucks to chase demonstrators or clear barricades.

The riot troops, wearing gas masks and holding clubs and shields, fired tear gas to disperse protesters. The clang of pots and pans--a familiar symbol now of anti-government protest--rang out from some apartment buildings.

Abadia told a news conference earlier in the day that exercises begun over the weekend by the U.S. Southern Command were "acts of arrogance that are intolerable" and that Panama was "suffering the aggression of a foreign colossus."

The United States has been calling for Noriega's removal since his indictment in Florida last month on drug trafficking charges. U.S. criticism of Noriega increased after he orchestrated the removal of president Eric Arturo Delvalle on February 26.

But a spokeswoman for the Southern Command, speaking on condition of anonymity, denied any hostile intent in the five-week-long maneuvers, saying they were regularly scheduled annual exercises. They involve about 680 soldiers from U.S. military installations in Panama and U.S. National Guard members.

Abadia said Panama "cannot interpret...[the maneuvers] as anything but the prelude to an armed invasion of Panama and if we are mistaken, let them demonstrate that we're mistaken."

Dennis McAuliffe, administrator of the Panama Canal Commission, reported that the canal is operating normally, though U.S.-Panamanian tension has caused strain on canal workers.

"No slowdown, no work stoppage, no troubles, no problems pertaining to payment," McAuliffe said.

The government set up dozens of mobile banks and special cashing posts yesterday for retired people, who took to the streets Monday when they could not cash pension checks.

The government said the payment centers would stay open until all 60,000 pensioners cashed their checks for the first two weeks of March.

Banks have been closed since last week because of a cash shortage and fears of a run by depositors.