Name: Manuel Antonio Noriega Country: Panama Birthday: 11 February, 1934 Died: still living Dates in Power: 1983- 1989 How Leader Came into Power: see classification Classification: de facto military dictator Nuclear Capability: no Major Achievements: de facto military dictator in Panama supported by the CIA for decades- eventually arrested for drug trafficking after the US invaded Panama to depose him.
BiographyGeneral Manuel Antonio Noriega (born February 11, 1934) was a Panamanian general and the de facto military leader of Panama from 1983 to 1989. He was initially a strong ally of the United States and was paid by the CIA from the late 1950s to 1986. By the late 1980s his actions had become increasingly unacceptable to American law enforcement officials and policymakers, and he was overthrown and captured by a U.S. invading force in 1989. He was taken to the United States, tried for drug trafficking, and imprisoned in 1992. He remains imprisoned in a federal prison in Miami, Florida.
Born in Panama City, Noriega was a career soldier, receiving much of his education at the Military School de Chorrillos in Lima, Peru and at the School of the Americas in Fort Benning, Georgia. He was commissioned in the National Guard in 1967 and promoted to Lieutenant in 1968. In that year he was part of the military coup that removed Arnulfo Arias from power. He received a promotion to Lieutenant Colonel and was appointed chief of military intelligence by the new leader Omar Torrijos Herrera. In his post, he conducted a ruthless campaign against peasant guerrillas in Western Panama and orchestrated the "disappearances" of political opponents.
When Torrijos died in a plane crash in 1981, he was succeeded by Rubén DarÃo Paredes, while Noriega became Chief of Staff. Noriega enhanced his position as de facto ruler in August 1983 by promoting himself to General. Noriega proved himself an ally to the US. Despite the canal treaties, he allowed the US to set up listening posts in Panama, and aided the pro-American forces in El Salvador and Nicaragua by acting as a conduit for American money and weapons.
DepositionIn October 1984, the first Presidential elections since 1972 were won by Nicolas Ardito Barletta, amid allegations of fraud, by a slim margin of 1,723 votes. Barletta was a candidate hand-picked by Noriega and had little power. Barletta resigned in September 1985 and was replaced with his Vice President, Eric Arturo Delvalle.
Noriega was on the CIA payroll since the early 1970s, as former CIA Director Admiral Stansfield Turner admitted in 1988, and he retained U.S. support until February 5, 1988 when the DEA had him indicted on federal drug charges relating to his activities before 1984.
His covert support for Cuba did him little good in Washington either. Revelations by a former colleague about his role in the killing of leading critic Hugo Spadafora led to civil unrest and increased human rights violations. President Delvalle attempted to dismiss Noriega shortly after his US indictment, but Noriega pressured the National Assembly to impeach Delvalle and replace him with Education Minister Manuel Solis Palma. In the elections of May 1989, Noriega's candidate lost by 37 percentage points, but he stopped the electoral protest and had his opponents attacked on the street.
On December 15, 1989 Noriega declared a state of war with the U.S. government. His forces shot and killed a U.S. Marine stationed in Panama City. It was also alleged that his forces were engaging in widespread harassment of other US troops, including at least one case of sexual abuse
On December 20, 1989 the U.S. invaded Panama with 27,000 troops in Operation Just Cause. Fighting between the U.S. military and the Panamanian Defense Force lasted for five days. According to U.S. governmental sources, several hundred Panamanians were killed (mainly civilians), and 23 American soldiers died. Latin American and international sources have estimated the civilian death toll to have been more in the order of 3,000, with between 20,000 to 30,000 having been rendered homeless. Noriega took refuge in the Nunciature of the Vatican embassy in Panama, where U.S. troops used psychological warfare, attempting to force him out by playing hard rock music outside the residence. The Vatican complained to President Bush because of this and U.S. troops stopped the noise. After a demonstration a few days later by thousands of Panamanians demanding his judgment for human rights violations, Noriega surrendered on January 3, 1990.
He was then flown to the U.S. and was convicted on eight counts of drug trafficking, racketeering, and money laundering in April 1992. His trial was held in Miami, Florida and on July 10, 1992 he was sentenced to 40 years in prison for drug and racketeering violations. His sentence was reduced to 30 years in 1999, making Noriega eligible for parole in 2006.
In Panama Americans re-instated democratic rule. Guillermo Endara Galimany was elected president in the 1989 elections, whose authenticity was confirmed by the Catholic Church, Jimmy Carter and other electoral observers.
In 1999 the Panamanian government sought the extradition of Noriega to face murder charges in Panama, as he had been found guilty in absentia in 1995.
Post A Comment About General Noriega
Body: It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees!