In the early hours of December 20, 1989, Delta Force operators executed a daring raid on a Panamanian prison to rescue a captive CIA operative. Launched at the onset of the U.S. invasion of Panama, the mission successfully brought Kurt Muse home safely. It marked a historic milestone: the first successful hostage rescue in the history of the Army’s premier special missions unit.Panamanian Defense Forces Headquarters in Panama City after its destruction during the US invasion on December 27, 1989.

On the night of December 20, 1989, the United States launched an invasion of Panama to topple the regime of dictator Manuel Noriega. This conflict became a significant testing ground for U.S. special operations, featuring a diverse array of missions—with varying degrees of success—carried out by Army Rangers, Navy SEALs, and Green Berets. Most notably, the invasion provided the stage for Delta Force to achieve its first successful large-scale hostage rescue, a pivotal moment in the unit’s history.

The former partner turned foe

The United States historically maintained a complex and turbulent relationship with Manuel Noriega. Though he had long served as a CIA asset, his involvement in drug trafficking made him an increasingly liabilities. After the Iran‑Contra affair came to light, his strategic value to Washington evaporated.

As diplomatic ties soured, Noriega took an aggressive stance. He arrested Kurt Muse—a CIA operative who had been running a covert publishing house in Panama—on charges of espionage and publicly threatened his execution.

Muse was held in the squalid, overcrowded Modelo Prison in downtown Panama City. The prison’s location was a calculated provocation: it sat adjacent to the Comandancia (Panama’s military headquarters) and within direct sight of the U.S. Southern Command.

Gen. Manuel Noriega with supporters in Panama City's Chorrilo neighborhood on May 2, 1989.

An audacious plan

Due to limited intelligence, Delta planners relied heavily on reports from an American doctor who had been treating Kurt Muse. From these briefings, they secured Muse’s precise cell location and a working layout of the facility. The final plan was high-stakes: a rooftop insertion, followed by a breach of the roof access door and a two-story descent to reach the hostage. The team would then exfiltrate with their "cargo" via MH-6 "Little Bird" helicopters.

The mission was assigned to 2 Troop, A Squadron, led by the legendary commando Lt. Col. Eldon Bargewell. The assault force, consisting of 23 operators, would be inserted onto the prison roof by four MH-6s from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Night Stalkers).

In the months preceding the raid, the team rehearsed the assault relentlessly. They staged forward at Howard Air Force Base in Panama, positioned just a short flight from the objective. To maximize the element of surprise, the operation was scheduled to launch 15 minutes before the main U.S. invasion began.

Delta operators from 2 Troop, A Squadron in Latin America weeks before the operation.

Six minutes to freedom

Just before 1:00 a.m. on December 20, the assault force launched. As the rescue team approached Modelo Prison, a pair of AC-130 Spectre gunships and several AH-6 Little Bird attack helicopters opened fire on the nearby Comandancia, unleashing a diversionary hail of lead to mask the incoming transport birds.

The four MH-6s touched down on the prison roof under immediate fire as Panamanian forces poured out of adjacent buildings. While the security element established a base of fire—with snipers neutralizing guard towers and machine gunners suppressing the courtyard—the rescue team sprinted toward the rooftop access door.

Expecting a heavily fortified entrance, the breachers had set a high-yield charge. Instead, they encountered a standard door; the resulting blast was so powerful it shook the entire facility. Inside, the team moved with surgical efficiency. They neutralized two armed guards and restrained a third who was unarmed and compliant—a testament to the precise target discrimination for which Delta is renowned.

Reaching the cell, the team prepared a second charge. "The guys had to blow Kurt’s door," a Delta veteran later recalled. "They told him to hide in the bathroom so he wouldn't be shredded by the flying door." Simultaneously, an operator had fast-roped to the exterior window to neutralize any guard attempting to execute the hostage, though the precaution proved unnecessary.

Once secured, Muse was outfitted with a helmet, body armor, and goggles before being hustled back to the waiting helicopters. Only six minutes had elapsed from touchdown to extraction—"six minutes that lasted an eternity," in the words of Joint Chiefs Chairman Colin Powell.

A Delta operator known as "Falcon" getting ready in the hangar before the operation.

It isn't over until it's over

An MH-6 Little Bird lifted off the prison roof with Muse onboard, but it immediately plummeted—stalled by the sheer weight of the team and equipment. The Night Stalker pilots fought for control, managed to "drive" the struggling bird down a city street, and executed a hard crash-landing in a nearby cemetery.

As the crew attempted to lift off again, they were met with a wall of enemy fire. One operator was struck in the chest and fell 20 feet from the aircraft; a teammate tumbled out after him while attempting a mid-air mid-grab. The Little Bird finally went down for good, severely injuring the two remaining operators. Among them was Sgt. 1st Class James Sudderth, whose foot was pinned beneath the helicopter’s skid. In an incredible feat of adrenaline and strength, Sudderth managed to shift the wreckage just enough to free his mangled foot, despite having several toes severed in the impact.

Miraculously, Muse and the pilots emerged from the wreckage unscathed. The wounded operators established a hasty defensive position in a nearby building, using an infrared strobe to signal overhead assets. Within minutes, armored personnel carriers from the main invasion force—carrying Delta reinforcements and medics—arrived to extract the team to safety.

The downed MH-6 Little Bird that carried Muse.

Following the harrowing crash, every operator involved eventually recovered and returned to active duty—a profound testament to their personal resilience and the unit’s unwavering commitment to its own. Their return to service underscored the exceptional caliber of the men selected for such high-stakes missions.

The grit of Sergeant First Class James Sudderth was particularly legendary. A fellow Delta operator who served alongside him later recalled: “Despite his wounds, ‘Conan’—Sudderth’s nickname—continued to serve in the Unit. He even graduated from Combat Diver school, arguably one of the most physically demanding special operations courses in the Army.”

The sheer intensity of the invasion was further underscored by losses across the city. Near the Comandancia, an AH-6 Little Bird attack helicopter was shot down during the height of the fighting. Fortunately, the expert Night Stalker pilots at the controls managed to evade enemy patrols and eventually escape to safety, mirroring the survival instincts that defined the entire operation.

The AH-6 Little Bird that was shot down near the Comandacia in Panama City.

The success of the Kurt Muse rescue held profound significance far beyond the immediate objective. It served as a definitive moment of redemption for Delta Force, which had been haunted by the disastrous 1980 attempt to rescue American hostages in Iran. That failure at "Desert One" had precipitated a massive overhaul of the U.S. special operations command and catalyzed the formal creation of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Night Stalkers). Nearly a decade later, the flawless execution of Operation Acid Gambit—achieved against formidable odds—finally laid to rest the ghosts of the past, affirming that the hard-won lessons of the intervening years had forged a world-class capability.