Omar Torrijos

Torrijos, as a lieutenant colonel, co-led a military coup that overthrew President Arnulfo Arias. The National Guard took power, and Torrijos emerged as the de facto leader of Panama, establishing a military government.

Torrijos initiated an agrarian reform program that redistributed land to peasant families. The reform aimed to reduce rural poverty and inequality, but its implementation was uneven and faced opposition from large landowners.

Torrijos negotiated treaties with U.S. President Jimmy Carter that established the gradual transfer of the Panama Canal from U.S. to Panamanian control by 1999. The treaties were ratified by Panama in a 1977 referendum and by the U.S. Senate in 1978.

Torrijos died when his De Havilland Twin Otter aircraft crashed in the mountains of Penonom