a
reference to anti-
American riots that occurred in
Panama in January 1964. Between 1903 and 1979, the United
states exercised
control over the
Panama Canal Zone, which included the canal itself and the surrounding land. In the 1950s and 1960s, various demonstrations began to occur in protest of United
States control in the
area. In 1964, riots were
triggered when Panamanian students attempted to raise the
Panamanian flag at a US-controlled
school in the canal zone (to protest the
flying of the US
flag there, which violated an
agreement the US had with
Panama) and were stopped by the
police. The result was three days of violent riots that
left four US soldiers and twenty-three Panamanians
dead.