Career
He served as Vice President of Panama and President of the National Assembly, serving in the latter post from 1997 to 1999. From 1975 to 1978, González Vernaza was the Vice President of Panama under Demetrio B. Lakas. In 1979, he helped found the Democratic Revolutionary Party of military ruler Omar Torrijos.
In December 1991, serving as the president of the Party of the Democratic Revolution, he vigorously criticized the administration of president Guillermo Endara, stating that "in 24 months, Endara has lost his political and moral authority, demonstrating his incapability to lead Panama." He also opposed Endara"s ultimately successful measures to abolish Panama"s armed forces.
González Vernaza opposed the presence of United States forces in Panama past the 1999 deadline for withdrawal set by the Torrijos-Carter Treaties for the handover of the Panama Canal. In 2004, González Vernaza was elected as a Panamanian representative to the Central American Parliament.
In July 1992, González Vernaza"s son Pedro Miguel González Pinzón was accused of the murder of United States Army Sergeant Zak Hernandez, who had been shot to death in his Humvee, and a warrant was issued for González Pinzón"s arrest.
According to a lawyer for the United States Embassy, three witnesses stated he was present at the scene, while others saw him and two accomplices in the stolen car used in the shooting.
The car was later found on a farm owned by his father. The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation matched an Alaska-47 from the attacks was found on the farm as well, while Scotland Yard and the Panamanian police did not find the Alaska-47 to match the bullets from the shootings. Though an arrest warrant was issued for González Pinzón shortly after the murder, he evaded arrest for more than two years, reportedly spending part of this time in Cuba.
In 1995, he surrendered directly to new President Ernesto Perez Balladares on live national television, accompanied by his father.
González Vernaza stated that the unusual circumstances were needed "to avoid an attempt on the kid"s life". González Pinzón was acquitted by a Panamanian court in 1997, though he remained wanted in the United States, where he had been indicted by a grand jury.
He later followed in his father"s footsteps, serving two terms in the National Assembly and becoming its president despite United States protest in September 2007. González Vernaza died on October 21, 2006 in Panama City of a disease.