Manuel Noriega

Manuel Noriega   (soldier)
For a year or two, Noriega was enemy image number 1
Born	Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno 11 February 1934 Panama City, Republic of Panama
Alma mater	Chorrillos Military School, School of the Americas
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Children	3
Spouse	Felicidad Sieiro de Noriega
Maximum Leader of National Liberation In office December 15, 1983 - December 20, 1989  Military Leader of Panama In office August 12, 1983 - December 20, 1989

Manual Noriega was a Panamanian military officer and politician who served as the de facto ruler of Panama from 1983 until 1989.

Career

Full article: CIA/Drug trafficking

Noriega rose through the ranks of the Panamanian Defense Forces (PDF) and became a key figure in Panamanian politics and military leadership. During his rule, he maintained close ties with the United States and its intelligence agencies, which saw him as a useful ally in the region. However, Noriega's relationship with the United States deteriorated in the late 1980s due to allegations of drug trafficking and his involvement in various illegal activities. In December 1989, the United States invaded Panama in an operation called "Operation Just Cause," with the primary goal of capturing Noriega and bringing him to justice.

How the CIA Created a Cocaine Dictator - VICE NEWS In December 1989, 25,00 US troops invaded the small, Central American republic of Panama. But this was not a war against some communist regime or terrorist group – this was a drugs bust, aimed at arresting Manuel Noriega, the dictator of Panama, who was wanted on trafficking charges in Miami. Awkwardly for the US, Noriega had been a major CIA asset for decades – even as they knew he was becoming massively embedded with the cartels flooding the streets of the US with coke. This is how US intelligence shielded Noriega, even as he trafficked cocaine and laundered cartel millions – and also how the War on Drugs came to replace the Cold War as the central feature of US foreign policy.

Arrest

After the invasion, Noriega sought refuge in the Vatican Embassy in Panama City but eventually surrendered to U.S. authorities in January 1992. He was subsequently transported to the United States, where he faced trial on charges related to drug trafficking, money laundering, and racketeering. In 1992, he was found guilty and sentenced to 40 years in prison. Manuel Noriega's rise and fall illustrate the complex and controversial history of U.S. involvement in Panama and its relationship with strongman leaders in the region during the Cold War era. Noriega's case also highlighted the connections between military regimes, drug trafficking, and international politics in Central America during that period.

“[Manuel Noriega] allied himself with the Medellin Cartel, his country serving as an important transit point for cocaine towards the United States. The Reagan administration worked with Noriega in support of the Nicaraguan contras, but by 1989 the dictator was growing out of control and had become such a liability to the United States, that George H. W. Bush ordered an invasion of Panama to capture Noriega. During his trial in the early 1990s, numerous witnesses/drug traffickers accused Noriega of drug trafficking, along with ties to George H. W. Bush, Colonel Oliver North and other CIA Contra figures. As the torture-murder of Hugo Spadafora in particular revealed, Noriega also was an extreme human rights violator who, similarly to the drug cartels and the CIA, had no problem torturing his enemies to death.”
Joël van der Reijden (August 27, 2016) 

“I’ve got Bush by the balls”
Manuel Noriega (1988) 

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