"The invasion of Panama erupts prematurely and Navy SEALs are trapped in the firefight." "With grenades exploding all around them, divers must navigate treacherous waters to reach their target." "Their mission:" "to stop dictator Manuel Noriega's escape from justice." "ln 1961, an elite team of special forces was created for covert operations on the sea, air and land." "Their missions have been kept secret for national security reasons." "Who they are and what they do has remained shrouded in secrecy." "Now, based on firsthand accounts of classified operations these are the untold stories of the Navy SEALs." "Fuera del carro." "Afuera, afuera!" "December 16th, 1989." "A U.S. naval officer and his wife were stopped by Panamanian soldiers at a roadside checkpoint in Panama city." "Vamos, Pronto!" "No, wait!" "No!" "Tranquilo, tranquilo!" "Lt. Marcotte was one of 35,000 American citizens living and working in Panama." "Hey, what are you doing to her?" "Aguantala a ella." "He and his wife had been returning home to Rodman Naval Base." "De pie." "Callate ya." "Instead, they became the victims of Manuel Noriega's brutal regime." "Callate!" "Te dije que te calles!" "Mira, pendejo, aguantala a ella." "The Panamanian Defense Forces, or PDF, were Noriega's personal army." "Ya basta, levantala." "Levantala." "The soldiers hauled the American couple into PDF headquarters for questioning." "Cuanto te queda?" "Como quince." "Relations between Panama and the United States were already tense." "Que tu crees que esta pasando alla adentro?" "Bueno, le estan partiendo la cara." "They were about to get worse." "Eres espia." "I am an American naval officer." "Mentiroso." "No, mentiroso que eres." "You have no right to hold us." "Eres de la cia." "Dilo y te vas." "Call the base duty officer." "Dimelo, ahorita, dmitemelo." "No tienes derecho." "The Panamanians accused the American of being a spy." "I'm not a spy." "Dimelo y te vas." "Call the base duty officer." "Dimelo, ahorita, dimelo y te vas." "I am an American naval officer." "Mentiroso." "Es espia?" "No me digas." "No." "No." "No." "Lt. Marcotte was then separated from his wife." "She was brutalized." "The interrogation went on for hours." "Late that night, the couple was driven to a desolate location on the outskirts of the city." "They braced themselves for execution." "Instead, they were released." "It was nearly 2:00 a.m." "before the Marcottes made it back to Rodman Naval Base." "Officer, open the gate." "They reported their terrifying ordeal to U.S. authorities." "It was the second assault on Americans that night." "Both incidents occurred within minutes of each other and at the same checkpoint." "A carload of off-duty Marines was fired on by PDF soldiers." "One marine was wounded." "Lt. Robert Paz was killed." "Violence was nothing new in the small Central American country." "Throughout the 1980s Panama was gripped in a stranglehold by General Manuel Noriega." "The dictator allowed Colombia's infamous Medellin drug cartel to use his country as a shipment point for drugs headed north." "ln exchange, Noriega received millions of dollars in bribes and payoffs." "ln February, 1988, he was indicted in a U.S. Federal Court on charges of drug trafficking and money laundering." "15 months later, diplomatic pressure from the U.S." "resulted in Panama's first democratic election in five years." "Noriega lost the election by a landslide, but he refused to relinquish control of the country." "Do you really think you have a military action...?" "President George Bush urged the dictator to listen to the Panamanian people." "Most of the people heard." "There has been a statement for democracy so loud and so clear, that perhaps even General Noriega will listen to it." "Still, Noriega refused." "Backed by the Panamanian military, he was determined to stamp out any threat to his power." "TV audiences around the world witnessed the dictator's violent response to the election results." "While news cameras rolled," "Noriega's foot soldiers hunted down the newly elected Vice-President." "Billy Ford was nearly killed on the streets of his own capital." "ln response to the violence, the United States severed diplomatic relations and imposed economic sanctions." "On December 15th, 1989," "Noriega told his National Assembly that Panama and the U.S. were all but at war." "...24 horas..." "President Bush demanded action." "Americans in Panama were under attack." "He ordered U.S. military forces to invade Panama and capture Manuel Noriega." "The invasion was code named "Operation Just Cause"." "I was told by Colin now that the trained..." "Covert operations would play an essential role in the invasion." "The Joint Special Operations Command was tasked with cutting off Noriega's two escape routes." "Commander Carson, we brought you in this evening to brief you on your mission." "lntelligence indicated he planned to flee by air or by sea." "...SEAL Team Two under your command for this conflict, we would like to..." "SEAL Team Four would take out" "Noriega's Lear Jet at Paitilla Airport." "...concerned with problems with this mission." "You'll be leading..." "SEAL Team Two, led by Commander Hank Carson, would cut off his sea route." "Yes, sir." "Carson's team was ordered to seize the dictator's gunboat, docked in Balboa Harbor." "It would be turned over to the incoming government after the invasion." "To Carson, the plan was flawed." "...return this boat to the elected Panamanian President once this mission is over and General Noriega has been captured." "Sir, if we board that boat..." "The objective put his team, as well as the invasion, at serious risk." "Sir." "Sir, if I may." "If you don't want Noriega to..." "Noriega's gunboat was heavily armed." "Outfitted fore and aft with .50 caliber guns, it was a threat to U.S. aircraft and ground troops in the area." "...sir, and my men take the boat and secure sea force, sir." "Carson's solution was simple but deadly." "SEAL divers would attach high explosives to the gunboat and blow it out of the water." "Mission planners at JSOC finally agreed." "They would go with Carson's plan." "Commander Carson, this plan that your divers need after the explosions..." "All right, gentlemen, listen up." "Here is what we're going to be doing..." "Carson also refused to send his men into battle without him." "He would personally ferry four SEAL divers in Zodiac rafts across the canal." "The two dive teams would insert a few hundred yards from the target and swim the rest of the way in." "We'll have two teams." "Garfield." "Sir." "Taylor, you're going to be number one." "Van Koert, you and Connelly are going to be number two." "Two dive pairs were being deployed as a failsafe." "They would each carry enough C-4 to destroy the gunboat." "If one pair of divers was captured or killed, the other pair could reach the target and carry out the objective." "Carson's team geared up for their mission at the SEAL base in Little Creek, Virginia." "All right, sir." "The Commander briefed his men on what would be a classic underwater demolition." "State-of-the-art explosives were out." "Magnetic limpet mines wouldn't stick to the aluminum hull of the gunboat." "Instead, the divers would carry 40 pounds of C-4 plastic explosive divided between two Hagensen packs." "These simple canvass backpacks were developed in World War ll." "They could easily be tied to the gunboat's propellers." "The one nod to modern technology was a digital timer." "The boat had to be destroyed at exactly 01 :00 a.m., the start of the invasion." "As SEAL Team Two prepared to depart for Panama," "Commander Mike Dillon briefed a second SEAL team at Rodman Naval Base." "You'll have some close air support." "We hit the ground and we maintain..." "They had been tasked with an unusual mission." "Captain on deck." "As you were." "A large contingent of SEALs would infiltrate Paitilla Airport and seize Noriega's private jet." "You'll see some light aircraft on the sides of the hangars, which you will use for cover." "Enemy presence at the airfield ranged from ten to 30 PDF soldiers." "The Paitilla Team would have to take them by surprise and swiftly lock down the airport." "Now once again, gentlemen." "This would be a precise operation." "Both Noriega's jet and his gunboat would have to be destroyed at H-hour, or 01 :00 a.m." "The two SEAL teams would have to be well away from their targets when the invasion began." "Right here, where Delta will stay." "Carson's team deployed to Panama on the eve of Operation Just Cause." "Okay, we have a problem." "They were among 7,000 American troops airlifted to the small Central American country." "There they joined forces with military units already stationed in the area." "ln all, 22,000 troops were deployed." "Once they arrived at Rodman," "Carson and his men could see their target across the canal." "The dictator's gunboat, the Presidente Porras was docked just two miles from the base." "From its location near the mouth of the canal," "Noriega could easily escape to the Pacific Ocean." "Everybody up?" "Wrapped it up, sir." "Commander Carson gathered his men for a final briefing." "Here we go." "Last time." "The Navy SEALs would leave Rodman at exactly 23:00 hours, or 11 :00 p.m." "Better make sure gentlemen, to use your zigzag." "The divers had 45 minutes to locate the gunboat's hull, underwater and in the dark." "They would attach their explosives and swim to safety before the invasion began." "The boat would blow at 01 :00 a.m., the same time U.S. ground troops began their assault on the city." "Carson's team would set off Operation Just Cause." "We leave Rodman here at 23:00." "As the hour of the invasion neared, battalions of light tanks and infantry moved into position." "The Pentagon told the press they were conducting routine training exercises." "They did not want to alert Noriega to the imminent attack." "Move, move, move!" "..." "At Rodman, the SEALs checked their equipment and geared up." "A fire support team would remain on the docks with .50 caliber machine guns and grenade launchers." "The gunners would provide cover as the SEALs crossed the canal." "The divers were equipped with Draeger breathing units instead of scuba tanks," "Draeger's recycle oxygen, eliminating bubbles that reveal a diver's position." "While stealthy, they are only used for shallow dives of 25 feet or less." "Any deeper, and divers can suffer oxygen poisoning or the bends." "You need to take a look at this." "It's been moved up half an hour." "Just before 11 :00 p.m.," "Special Operations Commanders received an urgent message." "The Panamanian Defense Forces had tracked the influx of American planes into the region." "Espero que sea bueno." "Bueno, senor, me parece que los americanos estan moviendose." "C-5s and C-130s, large aircraft that could haul troops and heavy equipment, had been picked up on radar." "The PDF placed every military unit on alert." "Whatever the Americans had planned, the Panamanians would be ready." "...sobre eso." "Pues, a ver..." "Carson received word from JSOC just as the team was preparing to deploy." "Carson." "Task Unit Whiskey, we need you to blow the boat at H minus 30." "He was ordered to hit his target at 12:30..." "But, sir." "...a half hour earlier than planned." "I repeat, H minus 30." "But Carson's dive plan had already been established." "The explosive timers were preset." "Any deviation endangered the mission as well as his men." "They would have to reset delicate explosives on the move and in the dark." "Carson had an impossible decision to make." "As an officer, he was required to follow orders." "Over." "But if the C-4 detonated prematurely, it would kill his men... and the mission to capture Noriega would fail before it even began." "On December 19th, 1989," "U.S. forces were ready to strike Panama in Operation Just Cause." "U.S. Navy SEALs were part of a covert operation to destroy General Manuel Noriega's escape boat." "Two hours before the invasion was scheduled to begin," "Special Operations Commanders ordered the Navy SEALs to shave 30 minutes off their mission." "We need you to blow the boat at H minus 30." "I understand that, sir." "But Commander Hank Carson's strategy depended on precise timing and the element of surprise." "The fate of the mission and the lives of his men would hinge on his decision." "But you see, my men are already in the water, sir." "ln a daring move, Carson told senior mission planners he could not reach his divers." "Roger." "They were already underwater." "Proceed as planned." "Dive as planned, gentlemen." "Let's go." "Move out." "Move out." "They adhered to the original plan." "They would blow the boat at exactly 01 :00 a.m." "Go, go, go." "At 11 :00 p.m., the SEALs deployed in two Zodiac rubber rafts." "They zigzagged across the canal slowly to minimize their wake." "ln addition to Carson, there were four swimmers along with two coxswains... and two M-16 machine gunners." "Each team member scanned the surface for enemy patrol boats." "Half way across the canal, one of the engines threatened to stall." "They could not afford to get stranded in the middle of the enemy's shipping lanes." "The engine gave out as they slipped into the shadows near shore." "A moment later, the lookout spotted a PDF patrol heading in their direction." "The SEALs sat motionless." "The patrol boat sped right past them." "The coast was clear." "They could proceed to the insertion point." "But now the engine on one of the Zodiacs was dead." "Carson would have to take the divers out in two trips, doubling their risk of exposure." "They would insert closer to the target to make up lost time." "Noriega's boat was docked just 150 yards away." "Anchored nearby was a Russian trawler." "The Soviets claimed it was a fishing boat." "The U.S. Military suspected it was a spy vessel." "Dive Pair One slipped into the canal at exactly 11 :30 p.m." "They had 90 minutes to hit their target and swim to safety." "To navigate through the dark waters, the divers used a luminous compass." "They counted kicks to measure distance." "While submerged, their only means of communication was via hand signals." "On the surface, Carson returned with Dive Pair two." "They went over the side five minutes behind schedule." "To rendezvous with Dive Pair One at the target they would have to make up time in the water." "Carson tied the Zodiacs together." "He maneuvered back across the canal to change out the stalled engine." "Both rafts would be needed to extract the divers." "Halfway across, Carson received another urgent message from JSOC." "The start of the invasion had been moved up by 15 minutes." "The divers would have no time to clear the target before the shooting began." "Carson was unable to warn his men." "War was about to break out and the SEALs were swimming right into the middle of it." "Shortly after midnight, Dive pair one reached the pier where the Presidente Porras was docked." "They believed they still had 45 minutes to hit the target and clear out." "As expected, there were several boats docked in the area." "The murky water made identifying the Presidente Porras difficult." "They would need a closer look." "A gunboat was docked between two piers, guarded by PDF troops." "It had to be Noriega's." "The SEALs went to work." "As they approached the aft section of the gunboat, an explosion ripped through the water." "The reverberation was deafening." "Taylor struggled to reorient himself but he could see blood." "Garfield's eardrums had ruptured from the concussion." "24 hours earlier, the two seals had been home with their families in the States." "Now they were under attack in enemy waters." "ln the predawn hours of December 20th, 1989, four SEAL divers deployed into the Panama Canal." "Their mission:" "to destroy Manuel Noriega's gunboat before U.S. ground troops invaded the country." "As the SEALs approached their target, the covert mission suddenly spiraled out of control." "Underwater explosions forced Dive Pair One to the surface." "They found themselves in the middle of a fierce battle." "Ve alla." "Chequea alla." "PDF troops were on the defensive." "Tracer fire streaked through the sky." "Heavy guns thundered in the distance." "A column of light armored vehicles and hard shell Humvees roared out of Rodman en route to Panama City." "Operation Just Cause had begun." "Now the SEALs were trapped beneath an avalanche of exploding grenades." "The divers couldn't tell whether the Panamanians were tossing grenades as a precaution... or if they had been spotted." "Either way, the gunboat had to be destroyed." "Dive Pair One made their way to the rear of the boat." "Although there was no sight of them, the second dive pair had arrived at the target first." "Their explosive pack was already tied to the starboard propeller." "The charges were set." "The countdown had begun." "Just then, the divers heard an ominous rumbling." "It was a sound they both dreaded." "The massive engines aboard the Presidente Porras had started up." "If the propellers were engaged, the SEALs would be torn to shreds." "There was no time to waste." "They carefully tied their pack to the housing of the port propeller." "The SEALs joined both detonation cords so the packs would explode simultaneously." "Altogether, 40 pounds of plastic explosives were now set to detonate at exactly 01 :00 a.m." "With less than 40 minutes left on the clock, the SEALs needed to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the target." "The shortest route was underneath pier 18." "But it was blocked by an underwater fence." "The SEALs searched for a break in the barricade, but it seemed to run the length of the pier." "They were trapped inside the blast zone." "Another volley of grenades hammered their eardrums." "Fighting in the area had escalated." "Garfield tried to raise Dive Pair Two on the radio." "It was no use." "There was no way to know whether Connelly and Van Koert had made it safely out of the blast zone." "Mira, traeme la luz, traeme la luz." "The guards aboard the gunboat were on lookout for combat divers." "The SEALs hugged the pier to obscure their silhouettes." "They would have to swim the entire length of the 450-foot structure and into open water." "It would take much longer to get to the extraction point, but they had no choice." "From the docks at Rodman, the fire support team could see the invasion raging across the canal." "Commander Carson and his men quickly replaced the dead Zodiac engine." "Ready to roll, boss." "All right, good luck with that radio." "Repeated attempts to contact the divers failed." "Negative." "All right, we're out of here." "Carson's mission was not complete until all four men were safely out of the water." "The SEALs headed back to the enemy's side of the canal." "The extraction point was located at pier six, 750 yards from the target." "With under 30 minutes to detonation," "Dive Pair One was still working their way to the end of pier 18." "They surfaced to check their position." "Skirmishes in the capital had spilled into the harbor and onto the docks." "They could hear PDF guards just a few yards over their heads." "The Draeger breathing units would keep them concealed just ten feet below the surface." "The SEALs moved on." "From their position, they could clearly see the Soviet spy boat tied up near the end of the pier." "Armed soldiers guarded her decks." "The Russians were on high alert." "The surveillance vessel was probably equipped with side-scan sonar." "It would detect the SEALs if they tried to swim alongside the boat." "There was only one path to safety, underneath the trawler." "Diving beneath the deep-keeled boat would max out their Draeger units, but only briefly." "The two men submerged to a depth of 25 feet." "They had cleared the trawler and reached the end of the pier." "Now they had to swim out into the canal to reach the extraction point." "As the invasion progressed," "JSOC turned its attention to the mission at Paitilla Airport." "According to an intercepted radio message," "Noriega was heading for Paitilla." "Do you copy?" "The SEALs at the airport had just 20 minutes to take out his private plane." "lntelligence reports said resistance would be light." "But the reports were wrong." "The PDF was waiting for them, ready to defend the dictator's escape by air." "As Commander Dillon's men walked into an ambush at Paitilla Airport," "Carson and his team arrived at the extraction point." "There was no sign of the divers." "The commander had hoped to make a quick pickup then speed back to base." "Instead, they would have to maintain their position in a hostile zone without cover." "Stingray, Barracuda, this is Neptune." "Do you copy?" "Over." "Their radios again proved useless." "Stingray." "Dive Pair One was still submerged in the middle of the canal." "Suddenly, the water trembled all around them." "The divers were now in the direct path of an ocean-going freighter." "The SEALs had only one option, to descend 50 feet to the bottom of the canal and hope their breathing units would hold up." "During the American invasion of Panama," "Navy SEALs were ordered to prevent Manuel Noriega from fleeing the country." "SEAL divers had set charges on Noriega's gunboat to explode at 01 :00 a.m." "But with 15 minutes left on the timer, there was still no sign of the SEALs." "Stingray." "As Commander Hank Carson and his team waited at the extraction site, ground fighting between the U.S. and Panamanian forces moved into their sector." "Dive Pair One was stranded." "They had been forced to the bottom of the canal by a massive freighter passing overhead." "Hovering at the bottom of the canal, the SEALs had entered dangerous territory." "They were far beyond the 25-foot limit of their Draeger breathing units." "The longer they remained at this depth, the higher their risk of oxygen poisoning." "There was nothing they could do but wait for the freighter to pass over them." "At the same time, Dive Pair Two cleared the blast zone." "They swam due south toward the extraction point and safety." "But pier six was anything but safe." "A firefight had erupted on the dock between U.S. Marines and the PDF." "Carson and the extraction team were pinned down just a few yards from a fuel depot." "One stray bullet and the entire pier would explode." "Hold on." "Sir." "Carson informed JSOC of their situation." "...Whiskey, do you copy?" "He could not confirm that his divers had successfully set their charges." "If his teams had been successful," "Noriega's boat would explode in less than ten minutes." "Do you copy?" "JSOC advised Carson to get out and get out quickly." "Task Unit Whiskey, report." "The SEALs at the airport were taking casualties." "This is not a request." "Over." "Dillon's team was pinned down on the tarmac by enemy snipers." "They were fighting for their lives." "Get out!" "Get out!" "Get out of there now!" "Carson was determined to bring all his men back alive." "He sent half the extraction team to search for the four divers." "The piers in the harbor all looked alike." "Maybe they had overshot the pickup point and were waiting at the wrong dock." "Unbeknownst to Carson," "Dive Pair One was trapped at the bottom of the canal just 200 yards away." "The Zodiac moved quietly between the piers, searching for the divers." "With less than three minutes on the clock, they were running out of time." "The freighter passed overhead." "Dive Pair One could finally ascend." "It was a slow process." "If they surfaced too quickly, they risked a fatal case of the bends." "The SEALs stopped at a depth of 25 feet to wait for their bodies to adjust." "With one minute to detonation, the divers checked their compass." "The wake of the tanker had dragged them closer to the blast zone." "The other pair of divers had cleared the pier, but the blast radius could extend hundreds of yards underwater." "There was no way to predict what 10 pounds of C-4 would do to a gunboat full of ammo." "Carson and his men braced themselves for the blast." "Even from a distance, the explosion was huge." "Stingray, Barracuda." "It damaged the pier and shattered the windows in buildings on shore." "The Presidente Porras was completely destroyed." "The SEALs had accomplished their objective." "But the price of that success was still unknown." "ln the early hours of December 20th, 1989, the United States invaded Panama in Operation Just Cause." "U.S. Marines and army troops encountered more resistance than expected." "Rogue street gangs had joined Noriega's forces in a deadly urban battle." "But at precisely 01 :00 a.m., U.S. ground troops were bolstered by the roar of an immense explosion." "Let's go this way." "SEAL Team Two had destroyed Manuel Noriega's gunboat." "The blast could be seen from Rodman Naval Base, nearly two miles away." "There, a fire support team awaited the SEALs return." "The extraction team was still on the other side of the canal." "Commander Hank Cason had accomplished his mission." "Noriega's sea route had been cut off." "This is Neptune, do you copy?" "Over." "But he had four men still missing in action." "Carson advised JSOC he would not return to Rodman without them." "JSOC instructed Team Two to stand by." "The mission at the airfield was in jeopardy." "Go, go!" "The SEALs at Paitilla Airport had been ambushed by PDF troops." "Commander Dillon's men were dying." "He was no longer concerned with collateral damage." "Come on, come on, let's go, let's go." "Target!" "The SEALs fired off an AT-4 anti-tank weapon." "The missile punched a hole in Noriega's jet." "The concussion from the blast put an end to the PDF." "Victory came at a terrible cost." "Nine men were wounded in the firefight." "Four Navy SEALs lost their lives." "At pier six, Carson and his SEAL team held their position." "There was still no sign of the four divers." "Neptune." "Do you copy?" "The pier became a battlefield as U.S. Marines clashed with PDF forces." "It was only a matter of time before their Zodiacs were spotted." "Sir." "An hour after the blast, the lookout spotted Dive Pair One." "Garfield and Taylor were exhausted but glad to be alive." "Dive Pair Two surfaced five minutes later." "The fighting on the pier grew more intense." "The SEALs maneuvered away from the firefight to get back across the canal." "The fire support team at Rodman watched for any sign of the SEALs." "By 02:00 a.m., they were 40 minutes overdue." "Sir." "Hold on, Captain." "From out of the dark waters came movement." "They waited for the signal." "We've got visual confirmation." "SEAL Team Two was heading in." "The mission had taken much longer than planned." "But in the end, all of Commander Hank Carson's divers came home." "The SEALs had accomplished their objective." "General Manuel Noriega was unable to flee the country." "On January 3rd, 1990, he was taken into custody by U.S. authorities." "He was immediately extradited to the United States." "ln 1992, Noriega was found guilty of federal drug and racketeering charges." "He was sentenced to 40 years in prison." "Se acabo, se acabo." "Panama was once again a free country." "Se acabo, se acabo." "23 American Gls, including four U.S. Navy SEALs, died in Operation Just Cause." "Their sacrifice restored democracy to the citizens of Panama and rescued an entire nation from chaos." "Thank for your watching."