The first country to buy it was Panama, which purchased 12 to 13 LAV-300s in APC, Fire Support Vehicle and Armored Recovery variants. Most of them were captured by American forces during Operation Just Cause. In Panama Defense Forces services, they were used by the 5th Infantry Company, the 6th Infantry Company (Mechanized) and Battalion 2000 (Mechanized). 4 LAV-300s were used by the 6th Infantry Company while 9 were used by Battalion 2000. They were deployed during the Battle of Paitilla Airport to block the path of the SEALS deployed to destroy Noriega's private aircraft.