Manuel Noriega
Manuel Noriega was a significant and controversial figure in Panama's history, serving as a military leader and dictator from the 1980s until his removal in 1989. Born in Panama City, he faced a challenging childhood after losing his mother and was educated at a military school in Peru. Noriega's military career began with a coup in 1968 that brought Colonel Omar Torrijos to power, under whom he became a key intelligence officer. His regime was marked by human rights abuses, involvement in the drug trade, and a complex relationship with the United States, which initially supported him but later sought his removal due to his increasingly authoritarian rule and drug trafficking activities.
In December 1989, the U.S. launched Operation Just Cause, resulting in Noriega's capture after he sought refuge in the Vatican embassy. He was extradited to the U.S., convicted of drug trafficking and racketeering, and sentenced to forty years in prison. After serving time, he faced additional legal challenges in France and Panama, where he was sentenced for human rights abuses. Noriega's health deteriorated in later years, leading to his death in May 2017. His legacy remains complex, reflecting the intersection of military power, politics, and U.S. foreign policy in Central America.
Manuel Noriega
Panamanian politician and soldier
- Born: February 11, 1934
- Birthplace: Panama City, Panama
- Died: May 29, 2017
- Place of death: Panama City, Panama
One of the most notorious military leaders in the history of Panama, Manuel Antonio Noriega Morena was born on February 11, in either 1934, 1936, or 1938, in Panama City (the year 1934 is generally accepted but not certain). His mother died when he was very young, and he was raised by his aunt. Being poor, his family could not afford to pay for a formal academic education, so Noriega accepted a scholarship to the Escuela Militar de Chorrillos (Chorrillos Military School) in Lima, Peru. During his time in Peru, he was recruited to provide intelligence to American military agents, thus beginning Noriega's long relationship with the United States intelligence community.
Early Military Career
After graduation, Noriega returned home to pursue a career in the military. He was commissioned as a sublieutenant in the Panamanian National Guard in 1962 and promoted to first lieutenant in 1968. That year, Noriega participated in a military coup to overthrow President Arnulfo Arias. The successful coup, led by Colonel Omar Torrijos, marked the beginning of decades of military rule in Panama. The new dictator became a mentor to Noriega, who was promoted to lieutenant colonel.
Because of the importance of the Panama Canal to the world's transportation system, the United States took a keen interest in Torrijos's regime. The canal, which cuts through the Central American isthmus, is a valuable trade route that allows ships to travel between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean without sailing around the tip of South America. The United States had maintained control of the canal since its completion in 1914. Under Torrijos, the movement to restore control of the canal to Panama gained momentum, until in 1977, a treaty to transfer administration of the Canal Zone to Panama was signed. Panama did not gain control of the canal itself until 1999.
Panamanian Intelligence
As Torrijos's right-hand man, Noriega was in charge of Panama's intelligence operations, which were supported by US military intelligence officers. He was instructed in counterintelligence, media manipulation, and psychological warfare at various American bases and attended a military intelligence officers' training course at the infamous US Army School of the Americas in Panama.
Noriega used brutal means to gain political power, harassing and even executing Torrijos's enemies. Tales of torture, murder, rape, and other crimes committed by Noriega's G-2 intelligence service quickly spread across Panama, intimidating any opposition to the regime. Torrijos and Noriega also participated in the international drug trade, using Panamanian resources such as airports and embassies to smuggle heroin into the United States and other countries.
By the time Torrijos died in a mysterious helicopter crash in 1981, Noriega had become a powerful and feared leader in his own right. In the turmoil surrounding the dictator's death, political and military leaders struggled against each other for control of Panama. Noriega initially supported the presidency of Nicolás Barletta but later had him removed when Barletta began an investigation of a controversial and secret G-2 operation. Despite US protests at the removal of Panama's only democratically elected leader since 1968, Noriega took command of the National Guard, reorganized it into the Panamanian Defense Forces (PDF), and assumed military control of the country in 1983.
Noriega's Dictatorship
For years, Noriega supplied the United States with minimal intelligence in exchange for money and protection. During this time, he also acted as a double agent, sharing classified documents with Cuban leader Fidel Castro and other communist regimes and selling arms to the Soviet Union and South American countries.
Although Noriega remained on the payroll of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) until 1986, the United States attempted to convince him to restore civilian control of Panama and warned him to stop his drug-trafficking activities. Noriega was angered by what he saw as US interference in Panamanian affairs, and the United States responded by imposing economic sanctions against the country and indicting Noriega on drug charges.
Noriega attracted more negative attention during Panama's 1989 presidential election. One of the regime's opponents, Guillermo Endara, won the election, and Noriega declared the election invalid. After years of ruling Panama by controlling the military, Noriega's growing megalomania prompted him to grasp formal political power, and election fraud was added to the list of abuses perpetrated by the regime.
Relations between the United States and Panama continued to decline throughout 1989. On October 3, a group of rebel Panamanian soldiers staged a coup to remove Noriega from power, but the attempt failed despite the assistance of the United States in blocking key roads. On December 15, after the Panamanian legislature declared Noriega president and suggested that the United States and Panama were at war, a US marine was shot and killed by the PDF. The United States feared that as president, Noriega would have direct control over the administration of the Panama Canal. This fear, combined with the mounting charges against Noriega and the death of the marine, prompted President George H. W. Bush to send US troops to Panama, in violation of international law.
Operation Just Cause, as it was known, launched on December 20, 1989, with the invasion of Panama City by more than twenty-five thousand US soldiers charged with removing Noriega from power. While US casualties were negligible, at least 514 Panamanians, and possibly twice that number, were killed in the assault, while many more were seriously wounded. Noriega took refuge in the city's Vatican embassy, where he remained for nearly two weeks. During that time, US forces used unconventional techniques, such as blaring rock music in front of the building, to flush him out. Finally, on January 3, 1990, Noriega surrendered and was taken into US custody.
Trial and Conviction
Noriega was brought to Miami, Florida, where he awaited trial on charges of drug trafficking, money laundering, and racketeering. He was convicted in 1992 and sentenced to forty years in prison. The combined cost of the military operation and the prosecution of Noriega turned the whole affair into one of the most expensive criminal convictions in US history and granted Noriega the dubious distinction of being the first foreign leader convicted of violating US laws.
Without the income generated by the drug trafficking, money laundering, and general corruption of the Noriega regime, Panama found itself $6 billion in debt after the dictator's removal, and many Panamanians bristled at the presence of US troops in their country.
In 1997, with Peter Eisner, Noriega published the book America's Prisoner: The Memoirs of Manuel Noriega.
In April 2010, Noriega was extradited to France to stand trial for money laundering. He was convicted in July of that year and sentenced to seven years in prison. In December 2011, Noriega was extradited once again, this time to Panama, where he had been sentenced in absentia to twenty years in prison for murder and abuses of human rights. Upon his arrival in Panama, he was immediately incarcerated in El Renacer prison.
Noriega was diagnosed with a brain tumor in early 2012. Though benign, the tumor later grew unexpectedly, becoming life threatening. In January 2017, Noriega was transferred to house arrest in preparation for surgery. The surgery was conducted in March at Hospital Santo Tomás in Panama City, where Noriega had first been diagnosed. The first operation, in which the tumor was removed, resulted in a brain hemorrhage, requiring a second operation to stop the bleeding. Noriega remained in intensive care until his death on May 29, 2017. He was survived by his wife and three daughters.
Bibliography
Archibold, Randal C. "Manuel Noriega, Dictator Ousted by US in Panama, Dies at 83." The New York Times, 30 May 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/05/30/world/americas/manuel-antonio-noriega-dead-panama.html. Accessed 10 July 2017.
Archibold, Randal C. "Noriega Is Sent to Prison Back in Panama, Where the Terror Has Turned to Shrugs." The New York Times, 11 Dec. 2011, www.nytimes.com/2011/12/12/world/americas/noriega-back-in-panama-for-more-prison-time.html. Accessed 10 July 2017.
Bodenheimer, Rebecca. "Biography of Manuel Noriega, Panamanian Dictator." ThoughtCo., 28 Aug. 2019, www.thoughtco.com/manuel-noriega-4766576. Accessed 29 Jan. 2020.
Kempe, Frederick. Divorcing the Dictator: America's Bungled Affair with Noriega. G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1990.
"The Long Battle between the United States and General Manuel Noriega." CBC, 3 Jan. 2020, www.cbc.ca/archives/the-long-battle-between-the-united-states-and-general-manuel-noriega-1.5395287. Accessed 29 Jan. 2020.
Zamorano, Juan. "Panama Ex-Dictator Noriega Is Critical after Brain Surgeries." Associated Press News, 8 Mar. 2017, www.apnews.com/46208bbf8d404d10add8ea3dd3a63806. Accessed 10 July 2017.
Zamorano, Juan, and Kathia Martinez. "Panama's Noriega in Prison 25 Years Post-Invasion." Associated Press News, 20 Dec. 2014, www.apnews.com/100164eb17dc4fc28bf66919d24077c7. Accessed 10 July 2017.