THE President has this morning reviewed the situation in Panama with his senior advisers. He has ordered the Assistant Secretary of State, Mr. Mann, to proceed at once to the Canal Zone. The U.S. Government greatly regrets the tragic loss of life of Panamanians and Americans. The President has given most earnest instructions to General O'Meara, Commander in Chief, Southern Command (CINCSOUTH), to do all that is within his power to restore and to maintain peace and safety in the Canal Zone.
The President has noted President Chiari's appeal to the citizens of Panama to join in the restoration of peace, and the President is making a similar appeal to the residents of the Canal Zone. The path to a settlement can only be through peace and understanding and not through violence.
Note: This statement was read by the Press Secretary to the President, Pierre Salinger, at his news conference held at the White House on January 10, 1964.
See also Item 104.
Lyndon B. Johnson, White House Statement on the Events in Panama. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/242268