I'Ll Hold Your Coat . . . Manny?

By PAUL GRAY/

More than a year before the U.S. invasion of Panama, Fidel Castro tried to booby-trap the operation he anticipated. Major Felipe Camargo, a former henchman of Manuel Noriega's, has told U.S. investigators that he met with Castro in February 1988 to plan resistance to any attack. Fidel suggested arming and training thousands of Panamanians into "dignity battalions," which were formed prior to the attack. Castro did not envision an outright victory over U.S. forces but a stalemate that would embarrass the superpower and last long enough to allow for a U.N.-mediated cease-fire, presumably with Noriega still in power. As good as his word, Castro dispatched a sizable arsenal to Panama, including an estimated 100,000 assault rifles. What the Cuban leader did not foresee is that Noriega would have so little stomach for a prolonged fight.

With reporting by DAVID ELLIS