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Via night-vision equipment, Michael Durant observed as 2 massive precision explosives crashed onto the Panama's airbase while he hovered off the country's south shoreline in a military aircraft.

"A gigantic flash, coming by a blast ... similar to the largest lightning bolt flash you've ever witnessed in your lifetime," the retired US military aviator recalled of the opening attack of the Conflict of Rio Hato Airfield in December 1989.

Historical Parallels

The stealth aircraft blitzkrieg and following army ranger assault represented the start of the Panama invasion - aimed to remove the Panamanian armed forces dictator, General Noriega.

Durant and his unit members had instructions to seize the Panamanian Defense Force base to block troops moving to Noriega's aid. During the following period, the aviator and more than 25,000 additional American soldiers pursued the dictator, who finally gave up on January 3rd 1990.

"Noriega was a bad, bad man ... and he had to be taken out," stated Durant.

Present-Day Military Deployments

Remembrances of Just Cause have resurfaced in the past few weeks after Donald Trump authorized the most significant US armed forces buildup in South America and the Caribbean since the time of that military intervention nearly four decades ago.

A seventh of American navy resources - including the world's largest aircraft carrier, the USS Ford - have been dispatched to the area since last August, with B-52 bombers and elite troops seen off Venezuelan northern shoreline. Military strikes on suspected narcotics vessels in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea have killed more than 60 individuals.

Official vs Suspected Goals

Publicly, the deployment of naval vessels, Reaper unmanned aircraft and about 10,000 military troops is a component of a campaign on Latin American narco-traffickers who Trump alleges of flooding the US with illegal substances. But various think the administration's true goal is toppling Venezuelan ruler, Nicolás Maduro, similar to President Bush ousted Noriega before he was prosecuted and imprisoned in the United States.

Political Viewpoints

Various representatives of Venezuelan political opposition appear enthusiastic for a repeat of Just Cause, on an even more larger level. The exiled politician Leopoldo López recently expressed approval for a American military action to oust Maduro, who is generally considered to have manipulated the previous presidential vote.

"Not to be the bearer of bad news, but it looks like we are about to start on another government overthrow conflict, comparable to, the coming week's time," declared Tucker Carlson recently week, mentioning the Iraq war as a prime instance of the United States' problematic history of regime changes that backfired.

"It never achieves its goals - but we are attempting it once more, seemingly," Carlson commented.

Public and Expert Perspective

A recent poll found nearly half of Americans opposed employing armed force to overthrow Maduro with merely 18% supportive.

The retired pilot additionally had concerns, even though viewing Just Cause the most effective operation of his two-decade army service. He was confident US forces could remove Maduro, as they had Noriega. "Our forces have significant ability and superb people. But is it worth putting all that at danger?" wondered Durant.

Before Just Cause, thousands of US soldiers were deployed in the country, Durant noted, but it has no such deployment in Venezuela.

Military Assessment

It was also unknown how capable the Venezuelan leader's Venezuelan armed forces were of combating against an invasion. "That to me is the largest uncertainty," Durant remarked. "The Venezuelan military do good military displays. But what can they actually do? Are they trained? Are they supported? Are they ready to resist? Are they devoted?"

Past Precedents

Historian Grow, a historian who published study about American leaders and Latin American cold war actions, saw "intriguing parallels" to past operations.

In 1988, on the verge of Just Cause, the US indicted Noriega for narcotics smuggling - just as they have with Maduro who in recent times had a $50m reward placed on his person for allegedly operating a "drug trafficking" cartel. "Therefore ... they've created a useful excuse if they choose to pursue a armed path," Grow stated.

Potential Scenarios

"But I don't believe it's on the agenda with Trump ... These particular people are not neo-conservatives. They're far more America First ... I simply do not envision the United States getting engaged in a military occupation in the continent," Grow added, while he didn't rule out "precision attack unmanned warfare"

Ambassador Story, the United States' chief representative for Venezuela from 2018 to 2023, also skeptical about a Panama-style invasion was coming: "The United States typically like overwhelming power and it would require 100,000 soldiers - and that's not this administration's style."

Alternative Strategies

But the former diplomat - who initially considered the administration's armed forces deployment sabre-rattling - now saw an 80% chance of "specific aggressive operation" on Venezuelan territory in the following 30 days, probably an air strike. "Our quantity of resources that have been arranged in the zone point to to me that we're preparing