Former Dictator of Panama…
Manuel Noriega, the former military dictator of Panama, has died at the age of 83, according to multiple news sources.
Noriega had undergone surgery in a Panama City hospital on March 7 to remove a benign brain tumor. Doctors placed him in a medically induced coma after he suffered severe brain hemorrhaging during the surgery, his attorney told CNN affiliate TV Panama at the time.
Noriega was born in Panama City on Feb. 11, 1934. He entered the Panama National Guard after finishing school and became a close confidant of Omar Torrijos, who took power as dictator of Panama in 1968. Noriega was appointed chief of military intelligence by Torrijos. Noriega also worked as a paid CIA asset through the 1970s, and was involved in assisting the U.S. in backing the Salvadoran government against the leftist Salvadoran insurgency. Noriega also served as a conduit for the U.S.-backed Contra militants in Nicaragua.
Noriega became the military dictator of Panama in 1983 following a power struggle that began after Torrijos died in a plane crash in 1981. His rule in Panama became increasingly hostile and repressive; in 1985, his political opponent Hugo Spadafora was captured by a death squad, and Spadafora’s decapitated and tortured body was found wrapped in a U.S. Postal Service mail bag.
In 1989, Noriega declared a Panamanian presidential election when it became clear that his political opposition had won the vote. In the months that followed, as tensions increased between Panama and the U.S., the Panamanian Defense Forces engaged in a series of hostile actions against U.S. troops and civilians, including the Dec. 16 killing of U.S. Marine Robert Paz at a military roadblock. Four days later, the U.S. invaded Panama under the orders of President George H.W. Bush.
During the invasion, Noriega took refuge in the Holy See’s embassy in Panama. As the United States was prevented by treaty from entering the embassy of the Holy See, U.S. troops set up a perimeter around the embassy and employed psychological warfare, such as the constant blaring of rock music, to get Noriega to surrender. Noriega finally surrendered on Jan. 3, 1990. He was detained as a prisoner of war and taken to the United States.
Noriega was accused of having ties to drug traffickers and was brought up on charges in the United States. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration called his trial the “trial of the century.” Noriega was convicted on eight counts of drug trafficking, racketeering, and money laundering. In 1992, he was sentenced to 40 years in prison—later reduced to 30 years and then again to 17 years for good behavior. His sentence ended on Sept. 9, 2007.
After his release, France wanted to extradite Noriega from the United States to serve time in prison as he was convicted in absentia of money laundering. Noriega fought extradition in the U.S. court system but eventually the courts ruled in favor of extraditing him to France. Then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signed his surrender warrant in 2010. Noriega was subsequently extradited to Panama from France in 2011 to serve time in prison for crimes committed during his dictatorship. He was released from prison in January of this year to undergo surgery for his brain tumor.
Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela announced Noriega’s death on Twitter, writing, “The death of Manuel A. Noriega closes a chapter in our history; his daughters and his relatives deserve to bury him in peace.”
