Manuel Noriega
Encyclopedia
Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno (maˈnwel noˈɾjeɣa; born February 11, 1934) is a Panama
nian politician and soldier. He was military dictator of Panama
from 1983 to 1989.
The 1989 invasion of Panama
by the United States
removed him from power; he was captured, detained as a prisoner of war
, and flown to the United States. Noriega was tried
on eight counts of drug trafficking
, racketeering
, and money laundering
in April 1992. Noriega's U.S. prison sentence ended in September 2007; pending the outcome of extradition
requests by both Panama and France
, for convictions in absentia
for murder in 1995 and money laundering in 1999. France was granted its extradition request in April 2010. He arrived in Paris
on April 27, 2010, and after a re-trial as a condition of the extradition, he was found guilty and sentenced to seven years in jail in July 2010. A conditional release was granted on September 23, 2011 for Noriega to be extradited on October 1, 2011 to serve 20 years in Panama.
, Noriega was a career soldier, receiving much of his education at the Military School of Chorrillos
in Lima, Peru. He also received intelligence
and counterintelligence training at the School of the Americas
at the U.S. Army base Fort Gulick
in 1967, as well as a course in psychological operations (psyops) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina
. He was commissioned in the Panama National Guard in 1967 and promoted to lieutenant
in 1968. It has been alleged that he was part of the military coup that removed Arnulfo Arias
from power, although in Noriega's account of the 1968 coup, neither he nor his mentor Omar Torrijos
were involved. In the power struggle that followed, including a failed coup attempt in 1969, Noriega supported Torrijos. He received a promotion to lieutenant colonel
and was appointed chief of military intelligence by Torrijos. Noriega claims that, following Torrijos' instructions, he negotiated an amnesty for about 400 defeated guerrilla fighters, enabling them to return from exile in Honduras
and Costa Rica
.
Torrijos died in a plane accident on 31 July 1981. Colonel Roberto Díaz Herrera
, a former associate of Noriega, claimed that the actual cause for the accident was a bomb and that Noriega was behind the incident.
Omar Torrijos was succeeded as Commander of the Panamanian National Guard by Colonel Florencio Flores Aguilar
. One year later, Flores was succeeded by Rubén Darío Paredes
, and Noriega became chief of staff. The Guard was renamed the Panamanian Defense Forces. Paredes resigned as Commander to run for the presidency. He ceded his post as Commander of the Forces to Noriega.
(CIA) from the late 1950s until the 1980s. In 1988 grand juries in Tampa and Miami indicted him on U.S. federal drug charges.
The 1988 Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics and International Operations concluded that "The saga of Panama's General Manuel Antonio Noriega represents one of the most serious foreign policy failures for the United States. Throughout the 1970s and the 1980s, Noriega was able to manipulate U.S. policy toward his country, while skillfully accumulating near-absolute power in Panama. It is clear that each U.S. government agency which had a relationship with Noriega turned a blind eye to his corruption and drug dealing, even as he was emerging as a key player on behalf of the Medellín Cartel
(a member of which was notorious Colombia
n drug lord Pablo Escobar
)." Noriega was allowed to establish "the hemisphere's first 'narcokleptocracy
'". One of the large financial institutions that he was able to use to launder money was the Bank of Credit and Commerce International
(BCCI) which was shut down at the end of the Cold War
by the FBI. Noriega shared his cell with ex-BCCI
executives in the facility that is known as "Club Fed".
In the 1988 U.S. presidential election
, Democratic
candidate Michael Dukakis
highlighted this history in a campaign commercial attacking his opponent, Vice President
(and former CIA Director) George H. W. Bush
for his close relationship with "Panamanian drug lord Noriega."
to restrict the movements of leaders of the leftist Salvadoran insurgent Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front
in Panama, and likewise rebuffed demands by Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North
of the United States Marine Corps
that he provide military assistance to the Nicaragua
n Contras. Noriega insists that his refusal to meet North's demands was the actual basis for the U.S. campaign to oust him.
In October 1984, Noriega allowed the first presidential elections in 16 years. When the initial results showed former president Arnulfo Arias
on his way to a landslide victory, Noriega halted the count. After brazenly manipulating the results, the government announced that the PRD's candidate, Nicolás Ardito Barletta Vallarino
, had won by a slim margin of 1,713 votes. Independent estimates suggested that Arias would have won by as many as 50,000 votes had the election been conducted fairly.
About this time, Hugo Spadafora
, a vocal critic of Noriega who had been living abroad, accused Noriega of having connections to drug trafficking and announced his intent to return to Panama to oppose him. He was seized from a bus by a death squad at the Costa Rica
n border. Later, his decapitated body was found, showing signs of extreme torture, wrapped in a United States Postal Service
mailing bag. His family and other groups called for an investigation into his murder, but Noriega stonewalled any attempts at an investigation. Noriega was in Paris at the time of the murder, which was alleged by some to have been at the direction of his Chiriquí Province
commander, Luis Córdoba. A conversation captured on wiretap between Noriega (in Paris) and Córdoba:
President Barletta was visiting New York City
at the time. A reporter asked him about the Spadafora matter, and he promised an investigation. Upon his return to Panama, he was summoned to FDP headquarters and told to resign. He was replaced by First Vice President Eric Arturo Delvalle. As a friend and former student of George Shultz, Barletta had been considered "sacrosanct" by the United States, and his dismissal signaled a marked downturn in the relations between the U.S. and Noriega. Herrera, a former member of Noriega's inner circle, told Panama's main opposition newspaper, La Prensa
, that Noriega was behind Spadafora's murder, many other killings and disappearances as well. This resulted in an immediate outcry from the public.
The "Civic Crusade", which opposed Manuel Noriega, was formed in 1981. Supporters of Noriega referred to the Civic Crusade as a creature of the rabiblancos or "white-tails", the wealthy elite of Europe
an extraction that dominated Panamanian commerce and that had dominated Panamanian politics before the advent of Torrijos. Noriega, like Torrijos, was dark-skinned and claimed to represent the majority population who were poor and of Zambo
heritage (mixed Africa
n and Amerindian ancestry). Noriega supporters mocked the demonstrations of the Civic Crusade as "the protest of the Mercedes-Benz," deriding the wealthy ladies for banging on Teflon-coated pots and pans rather than the cruder and louder pots and pans traditionally banged by the poor in South America
n protests, or sending their maids to protest for them. Many rallies were held, with the use of white cloths as the symbol of the opposition. Noriega was always one step ahead of them however, having informants within their groups notify his police in advance and routinely rounded up leaders and organizers the night before rallies. All of the peaceful rallies were brutally dispersed by Noriega's army and paramilitary forces known as the Dignity Battalions
. Many people were beaten severely, incarcerated, and killed during the protests. Meanwhile he arranged rallies of his own, often under threat (for example, taxi drivers were told they had to attend a rally in support of Noriega or lose their licenses). Noriega claims that the Civic Crusade was the handiwork of U.S. Embassy chargé d'affaires
John Maisto
, who arranged for Civic Crusade leaders to travel to the Philippines
to learn the tactics of the U.S.-supported movement to overthrow Ferdinand Marcos
.
. Most of the other political parties banded behind a unified ticket of Guillermo Endara
, a member of Arias' Authentic Panameñista Party, along with vice-presidential candidates Ricardo Arias Calderón (no relation to Arnulfo Arias) and Guillermo Ford.
According to Guillermo Sanchez, the opposition alliance knew that Noriega planned to rig the count, but had no way of proving it. They found a way through a loophole in Panamanian election law. The alliance, with the support of the Roman Catholic Church
, set up a count based directly on results at the country's 4,000 election precincts before the results were sent to district centers. Noriega's lackeys swapped fake tally sheets for the real ones and took those to the district centers but by this time the opposition's more accurate count was already out. It showed Endara winning in a landslide even more massive than 1984, beating Duque by a 3-to-1 margin. Noriega had every intention of declaring Duque the winner regardless of the actual results. However, Duque knew he had been badly defeated and refused to go along.
Rather than publish the results, Noriega voided the election, claiming "foreign (i.e., American) interference" had tainted the results. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter
, there as an observer, denounced Noriega, saying the election had been "stolen," as did Bishop
Marcos G. McGrath.
The next day, Endara, Arias Calderón and Ford rolled through the old part of the capital in a triumphant motorcade, only to be intercepted by a detachment of Noriega's paramilitary Dignity Battalions. Arias Calderón was protected by a couple of troops, but Endara and Ford were badly beaten. Images of Ford running to safety with his guayabera
shirt covered in blood were broadcast around the world. When the 1984–89 presidential term expired, Noriega named a longtime associate, Francisco Rodríguez
, as acting president. The United States, however, recognized Endara as the new president.
) and Noriega's troops. On December 15, 1989, the PRD-dominated legislature spoke of "a state of war" between the United States and Panama. It also declared Noriega "chief executive officer" of the government, formalizing a state of affairs that had existed for six years. Noriega subsequently claimed that this statement referred to U.S. actions against Panama, and did not represent a declaration of hostilities by Panama. The U.S. forces conducted regular "freedom of movement" maneuvers and operations, such as Operation Sand Flea
and Operation Purple Storm
. Psychological warfare designed to harass the enemy, the U.S. military contended the exercises were justified by the Panama Canal
Treaty of 1980 (Torrijos-Carter Treaties
), which guaranteed the U.S. forces freedom of movement in the country in defense of the canal. Panama considered the exercises themselves a violation of the treaties, and Noriega called them acts of war against Panama.
On the other hand, Noriega's forces are said to have engaged in routine harassment of U.S. troops and civilians. Three incidents in particular occurred very near the time of the invasion, and were mentioned by U.S. President George H. W. Bush
as a reason for invasion.
In a December 16 incident four U.S. personnel were stopped at a roadblock outside PDF headquarters in the El Chorrillo neighborhood of Panama City. The United States Department of Defense
said that the servicemen were unarmed and in a private vehicle and that they attempted to flee the scene only after their vehicle was surrounded by a crowd of civilians and PDF troops. Second Lieutenant Robert Paz of the United States Marine Corps
was shot and killed in the incident. The LA Times claims sources state he was a member of the 'Hard Chargers', a group not sanctioned by the military whose goal was to agitate members of the PDF. The PDF claimed the Americans were armed and on a reconnaissance mission. Maj. Gen. Marc A. Cisneros, deputy commander of the Southern Command at the time of the invasion, said in a recent interview "The story you've got from somebody that these guys were a vigilante group trying to provoke an incident—that is absolutely false".
According to an official U.S. military report, a U.S. naval officer and his wife who were witnesses to the incident were assaulted by Panamanian Defense Force soldiers while in police custody. A week before the U.S. invasion, a cable from an American diplomat to Washington described Noriega as a "master of survival" and, according to the New York Times, the diplomat did not have an inkling of the coming invasion one week later.
The United States invasion of Panama was launched on December 20, 1989. Losses on the U.S. side were 24 troops, plus 3 civilian casualties. Statistics of the number of Panamanian civilian deaths remain disputed; the New York Times and Newsweek magazine reported between 202 and 220. The conflict also caused some considerable internal displacement
, with 20,000 to 30,000 having been rendered homeless.
On December 29, the General Assembly of the United Nations voted 75–20 with 40 abstentions to condemn the invasion as a flagrant violation of international law. According to a CBS poll, 92% of Panamanian adults supported the U.S. incursion, and 76% wished that U.S. forces had invaded in October during the coup. However, others dispute this finding, claiming that the Panamanian surveys were completed in wealthy, English-speaking neighborhoods in Panama City, among Panamanians most likely to support US actions.
, as part of the United States invasion of Panama. He was detained as a prisoner of war
, and later taken to the United States.
Noriega fled during the invasion, and a manhunt ensued. He threatened that he would call for guerilla warfare if the Apostolic Nuncio did not give him refuge. He was discovered to be in the Apostolic Nunciature
, the Holy See
's embassy in Panama. Noriega surrendered on January 3, 1990.
, at the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
in which he was tried and convicted on eight counts of drug trafficking, racketeering and money laundering.
At his trial, Noriega intended to defend himself by presenting his alleged crimes within the framework of his work for the US Central Intelligence Agency
. The government objected to any disclosure of the purposes for which the United States had paid Noriega because this information was classified
and its disclosure went against the interests of the United States. In pre-trial proceedings, the government offered to stipulate that Noriega had received approximately $320,000 from the United States Army
and the Central Intelligence Agency
. Noriega insisted that "the actual figure approached $10,000,000, and that he should be allowed to disclose the tasks he had performed for the United States". The district court held that the "information about the content of the discrete operations in which Noriega had engaged in exchange for the alleged payments was irrelevant to his defense". It ruled that the introduction of evidence about Noriega's role in the CIA would "confuse the jury".
After the trial, Noriega appealed this exclusionary ruling by the judge to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
. The Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the government, despite disagreeing with the lower court. It said: "Our review leads us to conclude that information regarding the purposes for which the United States previously paid Noriega potentially had some probative value … Thus, the district court may have overstated the case when it declared evidence of the purposes for which the United States allegedly paid Noriega wholly irrelevant to his defense". However, the Court of Appeals refused to set aside the verdict because it felt that "the potential probative value of this material, however, was relatively marginal".
On September 16, 1992, Noriega was sentenced to 40 years in prison (later reduced to 30 years).
, facility. Noriega resided in the Federal Correctional Institution, Miami
, in an unincorporated area
of Miami-Dade County, Florida
, and had the Federal Bureau of Prisons
ID number 38699-079.
Under Article 85 of the Third Geneva Convention
, Noriega is still considered a prisoner of war, despite his conviction for acts committed prior to his capture by the "detaining power" (the United States). This status has meant that in Florida he had his own prison cell furnished with electronics and exercise equipment. His cell had been nicknamed "the presidential suite".
It was reported that Noriega had been visited by evangelical Christians, who claimed that he had become a born-again Christian. On May 15–16, 1990, while Noriega still awaited trial, Clift Brannon, a former attorney-turned-preacher, and a Spanish interpreter, Rudy Hernandez, were allowed to visit the prisoner for a total of six hours in the Metropolitan Correctional Center of Dade County, Florida. Following their visit, Noriega wrote Brannon as follows:
Noriega's prison sentence was reduced from 30 years to 17 years for good behavior. After serving 17 years in detention and imprisonment, his prison sentence ended on September 9, 2007. He was held under U.S. custody before being extradited to French custody. Noriega is incarcerated in the La Santé Prison
.
The French government requested the extradition of Noriega after he was convicted of money laundering in 1999. The French claim Noriega laundered some in drug proceeds by purchasing luxury apartments in Paris. Noriega was convicted in absentia
, but France agreed to give him a new trial if he were extradited. He faced up to 10 years in French prison if convicted.
In August 2007, a US federal judge approved a request from the French government to extradite Noriega from the United States to France after his release. Noriega has also received a long jail term in absentia in Panama for murder and human rights abuses. Noriega appealed his extradition to France because he claims that country will not honor his legal status as a prisoner of war.
In 1999, the Panamanian government sought the extradition of Noriega to face murder charges in Panama because he had been found guilty in absentia in 1995 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Under Panama's legal system he may be sentenced to serve his sentence under house arrest due to his age.
On February 20, 2010, Noriega's lawyers filed a petition with the Supreme Court of the United States
to block his extradition to France, after the court refused to hear his appeal
the previous month. Noriega's attorneys had hoped that the dissenting opinion
in that ruling, written by Justices Clarence Thomas
and Antonin Scalia
, would convince the full court to take up his case, but on March 22, 2010, the Supreme Court refused to hear the petition. Two days after the refusal, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
in Miami lifted the stay that was blocking Noriega's extradition. Noriega's attorney stated that he would travel to France and try to arrange a deal with the French government.
Secretary of State
Hillary Rodham Clinton
later in March signed the surrender warrant for Noriega after a District Court judge in Miami lifted a stay blocking the extradition.
On April 26, 2010, Noriega was extradited to France. Noriega's lawyers claim that the La Santé prison
, at which he is held, is unfit for a man of his age and rank; the French government has refused to grant him prisoner of war
status, which he had in the United States.
In addition, €2.3 million (approximately US$3.6 million) that has long been frozen in Noriega's French bank accounts was ordered to be seized.
(stagename for Danny Wolfers) wrote and produced the album The Rise and Fall of Manuel Noriega in 2008. In the event a biopic film would be made about Noriega's life, this was intended to be the soundtrack. Legowelt never made any overt statements about Noriega himself, but his view of dictatorships is negative.
Rapper N.O.R.E.
originally went by the stage name Noreaga, in reference to Manuel Noriega.
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
nian politician and soldier. He was military dictator of Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
from 1983 to 1989.
The 1989 invasion of Panama
United States invasion of Panama
The United States Invasion of Panama, code-named Operation Just Cause, was the invasion of Panama by the United States in December 1989. It occurred during the administration of U.S. President George H. W...
by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
removed him from power; he was captured, detained as a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
, and flown to the United States. Noriega was tried
Trial
A trial is, in the most general sense, a test, usually a test to see whether something does or does not meet a given standard.It may refer to:*Trial , the presentation of information in a formal setting, usually a court...
on eight counts of drug trafficking
Illegal drug trade
The illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of those substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws.A UN report said the...
, racketeering
Racket (crime)
A racket is an illegal business, usually run as part of organized crime. Engaging in a racket is called racketeering.Several forms of racket exist. The best-known is the protection racket, in which criminals demand money from businesses in exchange for the service of "protection" against crimes...
, and money laundering
Money laundering
Money laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...
in April 1992. Noriega's U.S. prison sentence ended in September 2007; pending the outcome of extradition
Extradition
Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...
requests by both Panama and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, for convictions in absentia
In absentia
In absentia is Latin for "in the absence". In legal use, it usually means a trial at which the defendant is not physically present. The phrase is not ordinarily a mere observation, but suggests recognition of violation to a defendant's right to be present in court proceedings in a criminal trial.In...
for murder in 1995 and money laundering in 1999. France was granted its extradition request in April 2010. He arrived in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
on April 27, 2010, and after a re-trial as a condition of the extradition, he was found guilty and sentenced to seven years in jail in July 2010. A conditional release was granted on September 23, 2011 for Noriega to be extradited on October 1, 2011 to serve 20 years in Panama.
Career
Born in Panama CityPanama City
Panama is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Panama. It has a population of 880,691, with a total metro population of 1,272,672, and it is located at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, in the province of the same name. The city is the political and administrative center of the...
, Noriega was a career soldier, receiving much of his education at the Military School of Chorrillos
Chorrillos Military School
The Chorrillos Military School is the institution in charge of the undergraduate education of officers of the Peruvian Army. It is located at Chorrillos, Lima, Peru, hence its name. Its current director is Brigade General Walter Martos Ruiz. It was also the alma mater of Manuel Noriega....
in Lima, Peru. He also received intelligence
Military intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions....
and counterintelligence training at the School of the Americas
Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation
The Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation , formerly the United States Army School of the Americas is a United States Department of Defense educational and training facility at Fort Benning near Columbus, Georgia in the United States...
at the U.S. Army base Fort Gulick
Fort Gulick
Fort Gulick was a U.S. Army base in the former Panama Canal Zone located on the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal near Fort Davis, on Gatun Lake.-History:It was perhaps best known as the location of the School of the Americas...
in 1967, as well as a course in psychological operations (psyops) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Fort Bragg is a major United States Army installation, in Cumberland and Hoke counties, North Carolina, U.S., mostly in Fayetteville but also partly in the town of Spring Lake. It was also a census-designated place in the 2010 census and had a population of 39,457. The fort is named for Confederate...
. He was commissioned in the Panama National Guard in 1967 and promoted to lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in 1968. It has been alleged that he was part of the military coup that removed Arnulfo Arias
Arnulfo Arias
Dr. Arnulfo Arias Madrid was president of Panama on three occasions: 1940–41, 1949–51, and for two weeks in October 1968.- Origins :...
from power, although in Noriega's account of the 1968 coup, neither he nor his mentor Omar Torrijos
Omar Torrijos
Omar Efraín Torrijos Herrera was the Commander of the Panamanian and National Guard and the de facto leader of Panama from 1968 to 1981...
were involved. In the power struggle that followed, including a failed coup attempt in 1969, Noriega supported Torrijos. He received a promotion to lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
and was appointed chief of military intelligence by Torrijos. Noriega claims that, following Torrijos' instructions, he negotiated an amnesty for about 400 defeated guerrilla fighters, enabling them to return from exile in Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
and Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
.
Torrijos died in a plane accident on 31 July 1981. Colonel Roberto Díaz Herrera
Roberto Díaz Herrera
Roberto Díaz Herrera was a Panamanian colonel under General Manuel Noriega and was most famous for his public denunciation of the Panamanian dictator in 1987. After General Noriega placed him under house arrest, Col. Díaz received much support from the Panamanian people, with many passing by his...
, a former associate of Noriega, claimed that the actual cause for the accident was a bomb and that Noriega was behind the incident.
Omar Torrijos was succeeded as Commander of the Panamanian National Guard by Colonel Florencio Flores Aguilar
Florencio Flores Aguilar
Colonel Florencio Flores Aguilar was a Panamanian army officer.Flores served as Commander of Panamanian Guardia Nacional following the death of General Omar Torrijos in July 1981. Colonel Florencio Flores Aguilar assumed command of the Military of Panama, and was displaced on year later by General...
. One year later, Flores was succeeded by Rubén Darío Paredes
Rubén Darío Paredes
Rubén Darío Paredes del Río was a Panamanian army officer and the military ruler of Panamafrom 1982 to 1983.Colonel Paredes came to power following the coup against Colonel Florencio Flores. Paredes' tenure was from March 1982 to August 1983. Paredes was promoted to the rank of general on March 3...
, and Noriega became chief of staff. The Guard was renamed the Panamanian Defense Forces. Paredes resigned as Commander to run for the presidency. He ceded his post as Commander of the Forces to Noriega.
Involvement with CIA
Although the relationship did not become contractual until 1967, Noriega worked with the U.S. Central Intelligence AgencyCentral Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
(CIA) from the late 1950s until the 1980s. In 1988 grand juries in Tampa and Miami indicted him on U.S. federal drug charges.
The 1988 Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics and International Operations concluded that "The saga of Panama's General Manuel Antonio Noriega represents one of the most serious foreign policy failures for the United States. Throughout the 1970s and the 1980s, Noriega was able to manipulate U.S. policy toward his country, while skillfully accumulating near-absolute power in Panama. It is clear that each U.S. government agency which had a relationship with Noriega turned a blind eye to his corruption and drug dealing, even as he was emerging as a key player on behalf of the Medellín Cartel
Medellín Cartel
The Medellín Cartel was an organized network of "drug suppliers and smugglers" originating in the city of Medellín, Colombia. The drug cartel operated in Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Central America, the United States, as well as Canada and Europe throughout the 1970s and 1980s. It was founded and...
(a member of which was notorious Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
n drug lord Pablo Escobar
Pablo Escobar
Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria was a Colombian drug lord. He was an elusive cocaine trafficker and rich and successful criminal. He owned numerous luxury residences, automobiles, and even airplanes...
)." Noriega was allowed to establish "the hemisphere's first 'narcokleptocracy
Kleptocracy
Kleptocracy, alternatively cleptocracy or kleptarchy, is a form of political and government corruption where the government exists to increase the personal wealth and political power of its officials and the ruling class at the expense of the wider population, often without pretense of honest...
'". One of the large financial institutions that he was able to use to launder money was the Bank of Credit and Commerce International
Bank of Credit and Commerce International
The Bank of Credit and Commerce International was a major international bank founded in 1972 by Agha Hasan Abedi, a Pakistani financier. The Bank was registered in Luxembourg with head offices in Karachi and London. Within a decade BCCI touched its peak...
(BCCI) which was shut down at the end of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
by the FBI. Noriega shared his cell with ex-BCCI
Bank of Credit and Commerce International
The Bank of Credit and Commerce International was a major international bank founded in 1972 by Agha Hasan Abedi, a Pakistani financier. The Bank was registered in Luxembourg with head offices in Karachi and London. Within a decade BCCI touched its peak...
executives in the facility that is known as "Club Fed".
In the 1988 U.S. presidential election
United States presidential election, 1988
The United States presidential election of 1988 featured no incumbent president, as President Ronald Reagan was unable to seek re-election after serving the maximum two terms allowed by the Twenty-second Amendment. Reagan's Vice President, George H. W. Bush, won the Republican nomination, while the...
, Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
candidate Michael Dukakis
Michael Dukakis
Michael Stanley Dukakis served as the 65th and 67th Governor of Massachusetts from 1975–1979 and from 1983–1991, and was the Democratic presidential nominee in 1988. He was born to Greek immigrants in Brookline, Massachusetts, also the birthplace of John F. Kennedy, and was the longest serving...
highlighted this history in a campaign commercial attacking his opponent, Vice President
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
(and former CIA Director) George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
for his close relationship with "Panamanian drug lord Noriega."
De facto rule of Panama
Noriega strengthened his position as de facto ruler in August 1983 by promoting himself to full general. Noriega, being paid by the CIA, extended new rights to the United States, and, despite the canal treaties, allowed the U.S. to set up listening posts in Panama. He aided the American-backed guerrillas in Nicaragua by acting as a conduit for U.S. money, and according to some accounts, weapons. However, Noriega insists that his policy during this period was essentially neutral, allowing partisans on both sides of the various conflicts free movement in Panama, as long as they did not attempt to use Panama as a base of military operations. He rebuffed requests by Salvadoran rightist Roberto D'AubuissonRoberto D'Aubuisson
Major Roberto D'Aubuisson Arrieta was the Salvadoran Army officer and political leader who founded the Nationalist Republican Alliance , which he led from 1980 to 1985...
to restrict the movements of leaders of the leftist Salvadoran insurgent Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front
Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front
The Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front is, since 1992, a left-wing political party in El Salvador and formerly a coalition of five revolutionary guerrilla organizations...
in Panama, and likewise rebuffed demands by Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North
Oliver North
Oliver Laurence North is a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer, political commentator, host of War Stories with Oliver North on Fox News Channel, a military historian, and a New York Times best-selling author....
of the United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
that he provide military assistance to the Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
n Contras. Noriega insists that his refusal to meet North's demands was the actual basis for the U.S. campaign to oust him.
In October 1984, Noriega allowed the first presidential elections in 16 years. When the initial results showed former president Arnulfo Arias
Arnulfo Arias
Dr. Arnulfo Arias Madrid was president of Panama on three occasions: 1940–41, 1949–51, and for two weeks in October 1968.- Origins :...
on his way to a landslide victory, Noriega halted the count. After brazenly manipulating the results, the government announced that the PRD's candidate, Nicolás Ardito Barletta Vallarino
Nicolás Ardito Barletta Vallarino
Nicolás Ardito Barletta Vallarino was President of Panama from October 11, 1984 to September 28, 1985. He belonged to the Democratic Revolutionary Party ....
, had won by a slim margin of 1,713 votes. Independent estimates suggested that Arias would have won by as many as 50,000 votes had the election been conducted fairly.
About this time, Hugo Spadafora
Hugo Spadafora
Hugo Spadafora Franco was a Italian and Panamanian doctor and guerrilla fighter in Guinea-Bissau and Nicaragua. He criticized the military in Panama, which led to his murder in 1985....
, a vocal critic of Noriega who had been living abroad, accused Noriega of having connections to drug trafficking and announced his intent to return to Panama to oppose him. He was seized from a bus by a death squad at the Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
n border. Later, his decapitated body was found, showing signs of extreme torture, wrapped in a United States Postal Service
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
mailing bag. His family and other groups called for an investigation into his murder, but Noriega stonewalled any attempts at an investigation. Noriega was in Paris at the time of the murder, which was alleged by some to have been at the direction of his Chiriquí Province
Chiriquí Province
Chiriquí is a province of Panama, it is located on the western coast of Panama, and it is also the second most developed province in the country, after the Panamá Province. Its capital is the city of David. It has a total area of 6,490.9 km², with a population of 416,873 as of the year 2010...
commander, Luis Córdoba. A conversation captured on wiretap between Noriega (in Paris) and Córdoba:
- Córdoba: "We have the rabid dog."
- Noriega: "And what does one do with a dog that has rabies?"
President Barletta was visiting New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
at the time. A reporter asked him about the Spadafora matter, and he promised an investigation. Upon his return to Panama, he was summoned to FDP headquarters and told to resign. He was replaced by First Vice President Eric Arturo Delvalle. As a friend and former student of George Shultz, Barletta had been considered "sacrosanct" by the United States, and his dismissal signaled a marked downturn in the relations between the U.S. and Noriega. Herrera, a former member of Noriega's inner circle, told Panama's main opposition newspaper, La Prensa
La Prensa (Panama City)
La Prensa is one of Panama's leading newspapers. It is an independent morning daily in broadsheet format. The paper is overseen by a nine-member board of directors who are selected from among the company’s shareholders. The board appoints a Publisher, the Editor in Chief and the General Manager....
, that Noriega was behind Spadafora's murder, many other killings and disappearances as well. This resulted in an immediate outcry from the public.
The "Civic Crusade", which opposed Manuel Noriega, was formed in 1981. Supporters of Noriega referred to the Civic Crusade as a creature of the rabiblancos or "white-tails", the wealthy elite of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an extraction that dominated Panamanian commerce and that had dominated Panamanian politics before the advent of Torrijos. Noriega, like Torrijos, was dark-skinned and claimed to represent the majority population who were poor and of Zambo
Zambo
Zambo or Cafuzo are racial terms used in the Spanish and Portuguese Empires and occasionally today to identify individuals in the Americas who are of mixed African and Amerindian ancestry...
heritage (mixed Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n and Amerindian ancestry). Noriega supporters mocked the demonstrations of the Civic Crusade as "the protest of the Mercedes-Benz," deriding the wealthy ladies for banging on Teflon-coated pots and pans rather than the cruder and louder pots and pans traditionally banged by the poor in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
n protests, or sending their maids to protest for them. Many rallies were held, with the use of white cloths as the symbol of the opposition. Noriega was always one step ahead of them however, having informants within their groups notify his police in advance and routinely rounded up leaders and organizers the night before rallies. All of the peaceful rallies were brutally dispersed by Noriega's army and paramilitary forces known as the Dignity Battalions
Dignity Battalions
The Dignity Battalions were paramilitary combatants created by Panama's military government in the 1980s to help train workers and farmers to defend Panama against invasion by the United States...
. Many people were beaten severely, incarcerated, and killed during the protests. Meanwhile he arranged rallies of his own, often under threat (for example, taxi drivers were told they had to attend a rally in support of Noriega or lose their licenses). Noriega claims that the Civic Crusade was the handiwork of U.S. Embassy chargé d'affaires
Chargé d'affaires
In diplomacy, chargé d’affaires , often shortened to simply chargé, is the title of two classes of diplomatic agents who head a diplomatic mission, either on a temporary basis or when no more senior diplomat has been accredited.-Chargés d’affaires:Chargés d’affaires , who were...
John Maisto
John Maisto
John Francis Maisto is a U.S. former foreign service officer and former ambassador. he was the U.S. Ambassador to the Organization of American States , the U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela 1997–2000 and the Ambassador to Nicaragua 1993–1996.Maisto attended the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign...
, who arranged for Civic Crusade leaders to travel to the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
to learn the tactics of the U.S.-supported movement to overthrow Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, Sr. was a Filipino leader and an authoritarian President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He was a lawyer, member of the Philippine House of Representatives and a member of the Philippine Senate...
.
1989 election
The elections of May 1989 were surrounded by controversy. A PRD-led coalition nominated Carlos Duque, publisher of the country's oldest newspaper, La Estrella de PanamáLa Estrella de Panamá
La Estrella de Panamá is the oldest daily newspaper in Panamá and the second oldest in South America. The newspaper originally began in 1853 as a Spanish language translation insert of an English daily, The Panama Star, which had been formed in 1849. It has a circulation of approximately 8,000...
. Most of the other political parties banded behind a unified ticket of Guillermo Endara
Guillermo Endara
Guillermo David Endara Galimany was the President of Panama from 1989 to 1994. He ran for office in 2004 and 2009 but lost to the former President Martin Torrijos and to the incumbent President Ricardo Martinelli....
, a member of Arias' Authentic Panameñista Party, along with vice-presidential candidates Ricardo Arias Calderón (no relation to Arnulfo Arias) and Guillermo Ford.
According to Guillermo Sanchez, the opposition alliance knew that Noriega planned to rig the count, but had no way of proving it. They found a way through a loophole in Panamanian election law. The alliance, with the support of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, set up a count based directly on results at the country's 4,000 election precincts before the results were sent to district centers. Noriega's lackeys swapped fake tally sheets for the real ones and took those to the district centers but by this time the opposition's more accurate count was already out. It showed Endara winning in a landslide even more massive than 1984, beating Duque by a 3-to-1 margin. Noriega had every intention of declaring Duque the winner regardless of the actual results. However, Duque knew he had been badly defeated and refused to go along.
Rather than publish the results, Noriega voided the election, claiming "foreign (i.e., American) interference" had tainted the results. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
, there as an observer, denounced Noriega, saying the election had been "stolen," as did Bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
Marcos G. McGrath.
The next day, Endara, Arias Calderón and Ford rolled through the old part of the capital in a triumphant motorcade, only to be intercepted by a detachment of Noriega's paramilitary Dignity Battalions. Arias Calderón was protected by a couple of troops, but Endara and Ford were badly beaten. Images of Ford running to safety with his guayabera
Guayabera
The guayabera is a men's shirt popular in Latin America, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, Puerto Rico, the Philippines and Zimbabwe. It is also more recently known as a "Mexican Wedding Shirt."-History:...
shirt covered in blood were broadcast around the world. When the 1984–89 presidential term expired, Noriega named a longtime associate, Francisco Rodríguez
Francisco Rodríguez (President of Panama)
Francisco Antonio Rodríguez Poveda was provisional President of Panama in 1989.Rodríguez became provisional President of Panama on 1 September 1989 following resignation of Manuel Solís Palma...
, as acting president. The United States, however, recognized Endara as the new president.
United States invasion of Panama
The U.S. imposed economic sanctions, and in the months that followed, a tense standoff went on between the U.S. military forces (stationed in the canal areaPanama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
) and Noriega's troops. On December 15, 1989, the PRD-dominated legislature spoke of "a state of war" between the United States and Panama. It also declared Noriega "chief executive officer" of the government, formalizing a state of affairs that had existed for six years. Noriega subsequently claimed that this statement referred to U.S. actions against Panama, and did not represent a declaration of hostilities by Panama. The U.S. forces conducted regular "freedom of movement" maneuvers and operations, such as Operation Sand Flea
Operation Sand Flea
Operation Sand Flea was a series of training exercises for the December 1989 invasion of Panama by the United States. These troop movements and practice assaults were disguised as training to defend the Panama Canal...
and Operation Purple Storm
Operation Purple Storm
Operation Purple Storm was a series of United States Southern Command, or the United States Army South exercises in Panama in 1989 that aimed to both assert United States treaty rights and to conduct tactical rehearsals for Operation Just Cause. These exercises were claimed to be carried out to...
. Psychological warfare designed to harass the enemy, the U.S. military contended the exercises were justified by the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
Treaty of 1980 (Torrijos-Carter Treaties
Torrijos-Carter Treaties
The Torrijos–Carter Treaties are two treaties signed by the United States and Panama in Washington, D.C., on September 7, 1977, which abrogated the Hay-Bunau Varilla Treaty of 1903...
), which guaranteed the U.S. forces freedom of movement in the country in defense of the canal. Panama considered the exercises themselves a violation of the treaties, and Noriega called them acts of war against Panama.
On the other hand, Noriega's forces are said to have engaged in routine harassment of U.S. troops and civilians. Three incidents in particular occurred very near the time of the invasion, and were mentioned by U.S. President George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
as a reason for invasion.
In a December 16 incident four U.S. personnel were stopped at a roadblock outside PDF headquarters in the El Chorrillo neighborhood of Panama City. The United States Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
said that the servicemen were unarmed and in a private vehicle and that they attempted to flee the scene only after their vehicle was surrounded by a crowd of civilians and PDF troops. Second Lieutenant Robert Paz of the United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
was shot and killed in the incident. The LA Times claims sources state he was a member of the 'Hard Chargers', a group not sanctioned by the military whose goal was to agitate members of the PDF. The PDF claimed the Americans were armed and on a reconnaissance mission. Maj. Gen. Marc A. Cisneros, deputy commander of the Southern Command at the time of the invasion, said in a recent interview "The story you've got from somebody that these guys were a vigilante group trying to provoke an incident—that is absolutely false".
According to an official U.S. military report, a U.S. naval officer and his wife who were witnesses to the incident were assaulted by Panamanian Defense Force soldiers while in police custody. A week before the U.S. invasion, a cable from an American diplomat to Washington described Noriega as a "master of survival" and, according to the New York Times, the diplomat did not have an inkling of the coming invasion one week later.
The United States invasion of Panama was launched on December 20, 1989. Losses on the U.S. side were 24 troops, plus 3 civilian casualties. Statistics of the number of Panamanian civilian deaths remain disputed; the New York Times and Newsweek magazine reported between 202 and 220. The conflict also caused some considerable internal displacement
Internally displaced person
An internally displaced person is someone who is forced to flee his or her home but who remains within his or her country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the current legal definition of a refugee. At the end of 2006 it was estimated there were...
, with 20,000 to 30,000 having been rendered homeless.
On December 29, the General Assembly of the United Nations voted 75–20 with 40 abstentions to condemn the invasion as a flagrant violation of international law. According to a CBS poll, 92% of Panamanian adults supported the U.S. incursion, and 76% wished that U.S. forces had invaded in October during the coup. However, others dispute this finding, claiming that the Panamanian surveys were completed in wealthy, English-speaking neighborhoods in Panama City, among Panamanians most likely to support US actions.
Capture
In 1989 the general was overthrown and captured during Operation Nifty PackageOperation Nifty Package
Operation Nifty Package was a United States Navy SEALs-operated plan conducted in 1989 designed to capture Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega. When Noriega took refuge in the Vatican embassy, deafening music and other psychological warfare were used to convince him to exit and surrender himself.The...
, as part of the United States invasion of Panama. He was detained as a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
, and later taken to the United States.
Noriega fled during the invasion, and a manhunt ensued. He threatened that he would call for guerilla warfare if the Apostolic Nuncio did not give him refuge. He was discovered to be in the Apostolic Nunciature
Apostolic Nunciature
An Apostolic Nunciature is a top-level diplomatic mission of the Holy See, equivalent to an embassy.The head of the Apostolic Nunciature is called nuncio. A nuncio is an ecclesiastical diplomatic title, derived from the ancient Latin nuntius, meaning messenger...
, the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
's embassy in Panama. Noriega surrendered on January 3, 1990.
Trial
In April 1992 a trial was held in Miami, FloridaMiami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
, at the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida is the federal United States district court with jurisdiction over the southern part of the state of Florida....
in which he was tried and convicted on eight counts of drug trafficking, racketeering and money laundering.
At his trial, Noriega intended to defend himself by presenting his alleged crimes within the framework of his work for the US Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
. The government objected to any disclosure of the purposes for which the United States had paid Noriega because this information was classified
Classified information
Classified information is sensitive information to which access is restricted by law or regulation to particular groups of persons. A formal security clearance is required to handle classified documents or access classified data. The clearance process requires a satisfactory background investigation...
and its disclosure went against the interests of the United States. In pre-trial proceedings, the government offered to stipulate that Noriega had received approximately $320,000 from the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
and the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
. Noriega insisted that "the actual figure approached $10,000,000, and that he should be allowed to disclose the tasks he had performed for the United States". The district court held that the "information about the content of the discrete operations in which Noriega had engaged in exchange for the alleged payments was irrelevant to his defense". It ruled that the introduction of evidence about Noriega's role in the CIA would "confuse the jury".
After the trial, Noriega appealed this exclusionary ruling by the judge to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* Middle District of Alabama...
. The Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the government, despite disagreeing with the lower court. It said: "Our review leads us to conclude that information regarding the purposes for which the United States previously paid Noriega potentially had some probative value … Thus, the district court may have overstated the case when it declared evidence of the purposes for which the United States allegedly paid Noriega wholly irrelevant to his defense". However, the Court of Appeals refused to set aside the verdict because it felt that "the potential probative value of this material, however, was relatively marginal".
On September 16, 1992, Noriega was sentenced to 40 years in prison (later reduced to 30 years).
Incarceration
Before receiving his permanent prison assignment, Noriega was placed in the Federal Detention Center, MiamiFederal Detention Center, Miami
Federal Detention Center, Miami is a prison operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. It is located east of Miami International Airport at the corner of NE. 4th Street and N. Miami Avenue...
, facility. Noriega resided in the Federal Correctional Institution, Miami
Federal Correctional Institution, Miami
Federal Correctional Institution, Miami is a U.S. federal prison in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County, Florida. It is a low to medium security facility housing male inmates and also has an adjacent satellite prison camp that houses minimum-security male offenders...
, in an unincorporated area
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
of Miami-Dade County, Florida
Miami-Dade County, Florida
Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the state of Florida. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 2,496,435, making it the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States...
, and had the Federal Bureau of Prisons
Federal Bureau of Prisons
The Federal Bureau of Prisons is a federal law enforcement agency subdivision of the United States Department of Justice and is responsible for the administration of the federal prison system. The system also handles prisoners who committed acts considered felonies under the District of Columbia's...
ID number 38699-079.
Under Article 85 of the Third Geneva Convention
Third Geneva Convention
The Third Geneva Convention, relative to the treatment of prisoners of war, is one of the four treaties of the Geneva Conventions. It was first adopted in 1929, but was significantly updated in 1949...
, Noriega is still considered a prisoner of war, despite his conviction for acts committed prior to his capture by the "detaining power" (the United States). This status has meant that in Florida he had his own prison cell furnished with electronics and exercise equipment. His cell had been nicknamed "the presidential suite".
It was reported that Noriega had been visited by evangelical Christians, who claimed that he had become a born-again Christian. On May 15–16, 1990, while Noriega still awaited trial, Clift Brannon, a former attorney-turned-preacher, and a Spanish interpreter, Rudy Hernandez, were allowed to visit the prisoner for a total of six hours in the Metropolitan Correctional Center of Dade County, Florida. Following their visit, Noriega wrote Brannon as follows:
Noriega's prison sentence was reduced from 30 years to 17 years for good behavior. After serving 17 years in detention and imprisonment, his prison sentence ended on September 9, 2007. He was held under U.S. custody before being extradited to French custody. Noriega is incarcerated in the La Santé Prison
La Santé Prison
La Santé Prison is a prison operated by the Ministry of Justice located in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, France. It is one of the most famous prisons in France, with both VIP and high security wings....
.
Extradition
In absentia
In absentia is Latin for "in the absence". In legal use, it usually means a trial at which the defendant is not physically present. The phrase is not ordinarily a mere observation, but suggests recognition of violation to a defendant's right to be present in court proceedings in a criminal trial.In...
, but France agreed to give him a new trial if he were extradited. He faced up to 10 years in French prison if convicted.
In August 2007, a US federal judge approved a request from the French government to extradite Noriega from the United States to France after his release. Noriega has also received a long jail term in absentia in Panama for murder and human rights abuses. Noriega appealed his extradition to France because he claims that country will not honor his legal status as a prisoner of war.
In 1999, the Panamanian government sought the extradition of Noriega to face murder charges in Panama because he had been found guilty in absentia in 1995 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Under Panama's legal system he may be sentenced to serve his sentence under house arrest due to his age.
On February 20, 2010, Noriega's lawyers filed a petition with the Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
to block his extradition to France, after the court refused to hear his appeal
Certiorari
Certiorari is a type of writ seeking judicial review, recognized in U.S., Roman, English, Philippine, and other law. Certiorari is the present passive infinitive of the Latin certiorare...
the previous month. Noriega's attorneys had hoped that the dissenting opinion
Dissenting opinion
A dissenting opinion is an opinion in a legal case written by one or more judges expressing disagreement with the majority opinion of the court which gives rise to its judgment....
in that ruling, written by Justices Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Succeeding Thurgood Marshall, Thomas is the second African American to serve on the Court....
and Antonin Scalia
Antonin Scalia
Antonin Gregory Scalia is an American jurist who serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. As the longest-serving justice on the Court, Scalia is the Senior Associate Justice...
, would convince the full court to take up his case, but on March 22, 2010, the Supreme Court refused to hear the petition. Two days after the refusal, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida is the federal United States district court with jurisdiction over the southern part of the state of Florida....
in Miami lifted the stay that was blocking Noriega's extradition. Noriega's attorney stated that he would travel to France and try to arrange a deal with the French government.
Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...
later in March signed the surrender warrant for Noriega after a District Court judge in Miami lifted a stay blocking the extradition.
On April 26, 2010, Noriega was extradited to France. Noriega's lawyers claim that the La Santé prison
La Santé Prison
La Santé Prison is a prison operated by the Ministry of Justice located in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, France. It is one of the most famous prisons in France, with both VIP and high security wings....
, at which he is held, is unfit for a man of his age and rank; the French government has refused to grant him prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
status, which he had in the United States.
Conviction
On July 7, 2010, Noriega was convicted by the 11th chamber of the Tribunal Correctionnel de Paris, and sentenced to seven years in jail. The prosecutor in the case had sought a ten-year prison term.In addition, €2.3 million (approximately US$3.6 million) that has long been frozen in Noriega's French bank accounts was ordered to be seized.
Panamanian request for extradition
Panama has asked France to extradite Noriega to them so he would face trial for human rights violations there. The French government previously stated that extradition would not happen before the case in France had run its course. However, on September 23, 2011 a French court ordered a conditional release for Noriega to be extradited to Panama on October 1, 2011.In popular culture
Dutch musician LegoweltLegowelt
Legowelt is a Dutch electronic musician who describes his musical style as "a hybrid form of slam jack combined with deep Chicago house, romantic ghetto technofunk and EuroHorror Soundtrack."...
(stagename for Danny Wolfers) wrote and produced the album The Rise and Fall of Manuel Noriega in 2008. In the event a biopic film would be made about Noriega's life, this was intended to be the soundtrack. Legowelt never made any overt statements about Noriega himself, but his view of dictatorships is negative.
Rapper N.O.R.E.
N.O.R.E.
Victor Santiago, Jr., best known by his stage name N.O.R.E. or Noreaga , is an American rapper of Puerto Rican descent...
originally went by the stage name Noreaga, in reference to Manuel Noriega.
Further reading
- Blum, William "The CIA, Contras, Gangs, and Crack" at Foreign Policy in Focus
- Blum, William "Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower"William BlumWilliam Blum is an American author, historian, and critic of United States foreign policy. He studied accounting in college. Later he had a low-level computer-related position at the United States Department of State in the mid-1960s. Initially an anti-communist with dreams of becoming a foreign...
Common Courage Press, 2000. ISBN 1-56751-194-5. - Chiasson, Lloyd "Illusive Shadows: Justice, Media, and Socially Significant American Trials". Praeger, 2003. ISBN 0-275-97507-X.
- Cole, Ronald. Grenada, Panama, and Haiti. United States of America: Joint History Office Defense Technical Information CenterDefense Technical Information CenterThe Defense Technical Information Center is the premier repository for research and engineering information for the United States Department of Defense. DTIC's Suite of Services is available to DoD personnel, defense contractors, potential defense contractors, federal government personnel and...
, US Department of Defense. 1998, 1999. - Dinges, John, Our Man in Panama: The Shrewd Rise and Brutal Fall of Manuel Noriega, New York, Random House, 1991. ISBN 0-8129-1950-5
- Knight-Ridder News Service Panamanian Envoy Ricardo Bilonick Admits Paying Drug Bribes to Noriega" 1991
- New York Times "Bribe Alleged For Testimony on Noriega". The New York Times Company, 1995.
- Newsday "Cocaine Boss May Testify Against Noriega". Seattle Times Company, 1991.
- Noriega, Manuel and Eisner, Peter. America's Prisoner The Memoirs of Manuel Noriega. Random House, 1997.
- Koster, R.M. and Sánchez, Guillermo. In the Time of the Tyrants: Panama, 1968–1990. W W Norton & Co Inc, 1990.
- Moushey, Bill. "The Damage of Lies" Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 1995.
- Murillo, Luis E. (1995). The Noriega Mess: The Drugs, the Canal, and Why America Invaded. 1096 pages, illustrated. Berkeley: Video Books. ISBN 0-923444-02-5.
- Rempel, William (2011). At the Devil's Table. Random House. http://williamrempel.com/2011/cartel-drug-bosses-helped-u-s-convict-noriega/
- Robert C. Harding (2001). Military Foundations of Panamanian Politics, Transaction Publishers.
- Robert C. Harding (2006) The History of Panama, Greenwood Publishing.
- Sherman, M.A. "An Inquiry Regarding The International and Domestic Legal Problems Presented in United States v. Noriega" The University of Miami Inter-American Law Review, 1989.
- Scott, P. & Marshall, J "Cocaine Politics" University of California Press, 1998
- Stich, R. "Drugging America" Silver Peak, 2007.
External links
- The Official Archives of General Manuel Antonio Noriega
- Ricardo Bilonick only came forward after the Cali drug cartel paid him $1.25 million
- Another Panamanian paid for his testimony against Noriega was Ricardo Bilonick
- Ricardo Bilonick Emerges as Key Figure in Noriega's Quest for a Retrial
- Narcotrafficker and Noriega associate, Ricardo Bilonick, defends Mexican drug cartel operatives, 2010
- Description of 1989 raid on Patilla airport, resulting in deaths of US Navy SEALs
- 1989 Report on the situation of human rights in Panama by Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
- R.M. Koster's response to claims made in Noriega's biography
- Noriega suffers mild stroke, hospitalized in Miami (CNN.com)
- My Pen Pal, the story of Sarah YorkSarah YorkSarah York is an American who became the pen pal of Manuel Noriega, then the de facto ruler of Panama, at age ten. Sarah began correspondence with Noriega after her father suggested on a whim that she should write to him because he liked the general's hat. This correspondence developed to the point...
, a girl from a small MichiganMichiganMichigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
town who was a pen pal with Noriega, beginning c. 1988. - Noriega co-defendant, Ricardo Bilonick, was paid for his testimony by the Cali drug cartel
- The Conversion of Manuel Noriega, American Rehabilitation Ministries. Noriega's profession of faith in Jesus Christ and his baptism in 1992 are chronicled.
- The Battle for Coco Solo Panama, 1989 Analysis by former USMA faculty member and Academy graduate
- Noriega co-defendant, Ricardo Bilonick smuggled 40,000 pounds of cocaine into the U.S. and received a three-year sentence.