The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Manuel Noriega, man who ruled with an iron fist, dies aged 83
One-time US ally ordered the deaths of opponents
Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, a one-time US ally who was ousted as Panama’s dictator by an American invasion in 1989, has died aged 83.
Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela wrote in his Twitter account that “the death of Manuel A Noriega closes a chapter in our history”.
Noriega served a 17-year drug sentence in the United States and was later sent to face charges in France. The final years of his life were spent in a Panamanian prison for murder of political opponents during his 1983-89 regime.
He is survived by his wife, Felicidad, and three daughters, Lorena, Thays and Sandra.
Known mockingly as “Pineapple Face” for his pockmarked complexion, Manuel Antonio Noriega was born poor in Panama City on February 11 1934 and was raised by foster parents.
He joined Panama’s Defence Forces in 1962 and steadily rose through the ranks, mainly through loyalty to his mentor, General Omar Torrijos, who became Panama’s de facto leader after a 1968 coup.
Two years after Gen Torrijos died in a mysterious plane crash in 1981, Noriega became the head of the armed forces and Panama’s de facto ruler.
Noriega ruled with an iron fist, ordering the deaths of those who opposed him and maintaining a murky, close and conflictive relationship with the United States.
He was considered a valued CIA asset and was paid millions of dollars for assistance to the US throughout Latin America, including acting as a liaison to Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
Washington ultimately turned sour on him, especially after a top political opponent was killed in 1985 and Noriega appeared to join forces with Latin American drug traffickers.
The beginning of his downfall came in 1988 when federal grand juries in the Florida cities of Miami and Tampa indicted Noriega on drug-trafficking charges.
US President George HW Bush ordered the invasion in December 1989, and Noriega was captured and taken to Miami.
Prosecutors accused Noriega of helping Colombia’s Medellin cocaine cartel ship “tons and tons of a deadly white powder” to the United States.
After completing his 17-year sentence in 2007, Noriega was extradited to France and received a seven-year sentence for money laundering.
But Panama wanted Noriega to return to face in-absentia convictions and two prison terms of 20 years for embezzlement, corruption and murder of opponents.
In mid-2011, France approved his extradition to Panama.