In Defiance: The Battle Against General Noriega Fought from Panama's Embassy [Hardcover]

Juan B. Sosa (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 1999

Memoir of Panama's ambassador to the United States who waged a two-year battle against General Noriega to maintain control of the embassy in the name of the constitutional government of his nation

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is a must read' for anyone who wants to know how foreign policy really works in Washington. It is an extraordinarily fascinating story of the intrigue and elaborate machinations of the U.S. response to the Noriega thugs of Panama. Told by the best possible source, the democratic Panamanian ambassador to Washington, this insider's personal story reads like the product of a novelist's imagination, but it's all too true." -- Michael D. Barnes, former member, U.S. Congress; former chairman, Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere Affairs, Committee on Foreign Affairs.

About the Author

Juan B. Sosa was born in Panama City, Panama in 1941. After graduating from the University of Oklahoma in 1963, he worked in the private sector in Panama. Sosa represented the government of President Delvalle as Panama's ambassador to the United States from October 1987 to August 1989. Since 1990 Sosa has been president of Panamerica Corporation, a marketing and business development consulting firm, in Washington DC where he lives with his wife and two children.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Francis Press; 1st edition (October 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966505115
• ISBN-13: 978-0966505115
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,227,618 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #71 in Books > History > Americas > Central America > Panama

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive, objective narrative of Panama's politics., November 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: In Defiance: The Battle Against General Noriega Fought from Panama's Embassy (Hardcover)

Ambassador Juan Sosa has in-depth knowledge of his country and is able to present it in an objective fair manner. He is a stickler for detail and a master of diplomacy in describing US-Panama relations and in analyzing the players' motives and inspirations which ultimately caused events culminating in the US military action, Just Cause. Juan Sosa is proud of his nation and of his role in preserving the integrity of the Embassy in Washington under enormous pressure. For those of us Americans who lived in this amazing little country, "In Defiance" makes the intricacies of very complex issues most understandable. I think even General Noriega might approve.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review for In Defiance, January 3, 2000

By 

J. Malcolm (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In Defiance: The Battle Against General Noriega Fought from Panama's Embassy (Hardcover)

I found In Defiance to be a highly informative and at times exciting and inspiring book. Considering that I knew how the story ended before I began reading, the fact that I found it difficult to put it down is the mark of a good story teller. Even though I followed the Noriega crisis rather closely in the press as it unfolded ten years ago, the book provided many fascinating details that were told from an "insider" point of view. The close relationship between the Panamanian Embassy and the State Department was particularly interesting. Author Juan Sosa also intersperses the narration of the story with interesting information about Latin American politics (comments on the Organization of American States were especially interesting). I found this book to be of interest not only as an historical account, but also because of its relevance to U.S. foreign relations today -- for example, the ongoing debate about the U.S. obligation/right to intervene in the affairs of sovereign nations.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Reviewer: Ines Chamorro, OAS Cultural Officer (1962-1989), March 12, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: In Defiance: The Battle Against General Noriega Fought from Panama's Embassy (Hardcover)

Ambassador Juan Sosa's IN DEFIANCE depicts the process and the strategy to restore democracy to his native Panama, and his personal battle even from his office in Washington, against one of the last military dictatorships that characterized Latin American governments for many decades. As a Colombian, I am compelled to hold a special view of the history of the construction of the Canal that eventually led to Panama's separation (we don't call it independence) from Colombia. Also, as a former 0AS staff member, I cannot but agree with the author's frustration in his dealings with the Organization especially in that particular period when its Secretary General, Baena Soares, Brazilian former minister of foreign relations, was himself a product of the military regime of Brazil. Ambassador's Sosa's endurance in his quest form Panama's sovereignty is clearly shown in his book written in such a manner that it holds the reader's attention from cover to cover.