Page "History of Panama" Paragraph 77
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Torrijos died in a mysterious plane crash on August 1, 1981.
The circumstances of his death generated charges and speculation that he was the victim of an assassination plot.
Torrijos ' death altered the tone but not the direction of Panama's political evolution.
Despite 1983 constitutional amendments, which appeared to proscribe a political role for the military, the Panama Defense Forces ( PDF ), as they were then known, continued to dominate Panamanian political life behind a facade of civilian government.
By this time, Gen. Manuel Noriega was firmly in control of both the PDF and the civilian government, and had created the Dignity Battalions to help suppress opposition.
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