ABSTRACT
Panamanian and Cuban foreign policies during the Torrijos years frequently converged in their anti-imperialist instincts and sometimes in their actions. As with any other nation-state, Panama's foreign policy is shaped by a large number of factors. Panama was one of the first nations to feel the impact of Fidel Castro's triumph when two small invasionary forces sent from Cuba landed on Panama's littoral. Panama's global policies during the Torrijos years converged with Cuba's on certain issues but diverged on others. At the global level, the most obvious difference was the position Panama took with regard to the Nonaligned Movement. Panama's aggressive attempt to play a larger global and regional role during the 1970s can be attributed primarily to the character and instincts of General Omar Torrijos. The leftist/populist foreign policy of the Torrijos regime was most clearly expressed through support for the Sandinistas and through attempts to establish relations with a large number of left-leaning Third World governments.
