The white handkerchiefs were meant to signal peace. Instead, they became targets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On July 10, 1987, thousands of Panamanians gathered along Via Espana in Panama City<\/a>, waving white flags and wearing white clothing. They came as professionals, students, and workers. They came as families. They came believing that a peaceful demonstration could topple a regime. By nightfall, hundreds lay wounded, thousands were arrested, and the country had entered a new chapter of state-sponsored terror.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Panamanians call it Viernes Negro (Black Friday) Panama<\/a>. It was not a shopping event. It was a massacre of civic conscience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n