Panama exhumes 19 bodies in search of victims of 1989 U.S. invasion

An employee works to exhume bodies at a private cemetery as part of a search for victims of the 1989 invasion by the U.S. military action to topple strongman Manuel Noriega, in Panama City, Panama June 16, 2020. Picture taken June 16, 2020. REUTERS/Erick Marciscano

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Panamanian authorities this week finalised the exhumation of 19 bodies in a private cemetery in Panama City as part of a search for victims of the 1989 invasion by the United States, Panamanian judicial authorities said.

The bodies were exhumed from the Jardín de Paz cemetery in the capital, where they were buried 30 years ago after initially being dumped in mass graves during the December 1989 to January 1990 invasion. Some bodies remain unidentified.