The Dictator's Playbook

(helicopter blades thudding) (dramatic theatrical music) -

Narrator

December 20, 1989, 25,000 U.S. troops descend on Panama City. (explosion booming) (gunshots firing) It's the biggest American invasion since the Vietnam War. (indistinct military chatter) (helicopter blades thudding) Their mission?

To capture one man

(explosion booming) Panama's military dictator, Manuel Noriega. The United States became enraged at this two-bit dictator who was defying it. (crowd cheering and applauding) (speaking in foreign language) (crowd cheering and applauding) (helicopter blades thudding) -

Narrator

To capture one man

U.S. soldiers scour Panama City, hunting for Noriega, but he's nowhere to be found. He basically goes into hiding. (crowd cheering and applauding) -

Narrator

To capture one man

Noriega's turbulent six-year rule has been marked by violence, deception, and excess. He was willing to do just about anything to get ahead. He was not only corrupted by power, but he was also corrupted by greed. He was a gangster, basically a gangster in a military uniform. -

Narrator

To capture one man

How did a kid who grew up in poverty grow rich, as dictator of Panama? (shouting in foreign language) And what did he do to provoke an invasion by the world's most powerful nation? (crowd applauding and cheering loudly) (dramatic theatrical music) -

Woman

To capture one man

Dictatorships have had an incredible impact in the past century. -

Woman

To capture one man

These dictators ended up learning from one another. -

Man

To capture one man

They're all different, but many use the same tactics. The use of terror. - Propaganda. Control the elite. - Create an enemy. Cult of personality. - Use violence. -

Man

To capture one man

These are tools that dictators use to stay in power.