Martyrs' Day

U.S. military responds to peaceful student protest with fireThis day was established in memory of the events of 1964. On January 9, the patriotic demonstration ended in unjustified cruelty. About two hundred students with the Panamanian flag marched along the Panama Canal Zone. By all accounts, it was supposed to be a peaceful protest against the presence of US troops.

For Panamanians, liberation from the U.S. military presence has been a matter of historical justice for many years, and conflicts between Panamanians and the North American military have continually arisen.

On January 9, 1964, the U.S. military responded with fire. Hundreds of students were wounded and more than twenty were killed. In memory of those events on the former "border" erected a monument to the Heroes of the Panamanian nation.