Manuel Noriega
Encyclopedia : M : MA : MAN : Manuel Noriega
- For other people named , see ." Manuel Noriega was allowed to establish "the hemisphere's first 'narcokleptocracy'".([link] p.3)
Colonel Roberto Díaz Herrera, a former member of Noriega's inner circle, claimed to Panama's main opposition newspaper, La Prensa, that Noriega was behind Torrijos' murder, Spadafora's murder and many other items as well. This resulted in an immediate outcry from the public and the formation of the "Civic Crusade". 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. Supporters of Noriega referred to the Civic Crusade as a creature of the rabiblancos or "white-tails", the wealthy elite of European extraction which dominated Panamanian commerce and which had dominated Panamanian politics before the advent of Torrijos. Noriega, like Torrijos, was dark-skinned and claimed to represent the majority population which was poor and of mixed Spanish, Amerindian and African heritage. 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 (unlike the cruder and louder pots and pans traditionally banged by the poor in South American protests), or sending their maids to protest for them. The American press, however, covered these demonstrations with great sympathy. 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. 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).
Overthrow
The elections of May 1989 were surrounded by controversy. Most of the other political parties banded behind a unified ticket of Guillermo Endara Galimany, along with vice presidential candidates Ricardo Arias-Calderon and Guillermo "Billy" Ford. American Kurt Muse was apprehended by the Panamanian authorities after he had set up a sophisticated radio and computer installation which was designed to jam Panamanian radio and broadcast phony election returns. The Panamanian government decided to proceed with the election; Noriega's candidate lost by a large margin, too great for Noriega's intended rigging mechanism to sway the vote. Even Noriega's own troops, bussed around all day to vote repeatedly, often voted against him. Noriega cancelled the election rather than display the results. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, there as an observer, denounced Noriega, saying the election had been "stolen". Bishop Marcos McGrath did as well. Amid the outcry, Noriega unleashed his Dignity Battalions to suppress demonstrations. In an image caught on video and played out in news sources around the world, Billy Ford's car was attacked by them, and his bodyguard was shot and killed. Covered in blood (from the bodyguard), Billy Ford attempted to flee as one of the Dignity Battalions pummelled him repeatedly with a metal pipe. This image brought worldwide attention to Noriega's regime.The U.S. had imposed harsh economic sanctions, and in the months that followed; a tense standoff went on between the U.S. military forces (stationed in the canal area) and Noriega's troops. The U.S. forces conducted regular maneuvers and operations, which were clearly provocative and a violation of the Panama Canal Treaty. On the other hand, Noriega's forces engaged in routine harassment of U.S. troops and civilians. On December 15, 1989, the U.S. press reported that Noriega had declared a state of war with the U.S. government. Noriega strongly disputes this characterization, claiming that his statement referred to U.S. actions against Panama and did not represent a declaration of hostilities by Noriega. The matter came to a head in December 1989: a U.S. Marine, returning from a restaurant in Panama City, was stopped and harassed to the point where he panicked and attempted to flee, and he was shot and killed. Some claim or believe that the victim was carring out reconnaissance around the old parts of the city, where the PDF headquarters, the Supreme Court and the presidential palace were located.
In response, U.S. President George H.W. Bush launched an invasion of Panama, though this military action had obviously been planned out months in advance. This move was thought by some critics to be ironic since, during his tenure as Director of the CIA, Bush had personally arranged annual payments to General Noriega in the initial amount of $110,000 (as noted in the House Foreign Affairs Committee Report: "Narcotics Review in Central America" - U.S. Govt Printing Office, 1988). Losses on the U.S. side were 23 troops, plus three civilian casualties. The U.S. claimed Panamanian losses were "several hundred" though exact statistics remain disputed, and some Latin American and international sources have estimated the civilian death toll may have been as high as 3,000 to 5,000. [link] The conflict also caused some considerable domestic problems, with 20,000 to 30,000 having been rendered homeless. Probably the majority of those resulted from a fire that devastated much of a poor area of Panama City that surrounded the Comandancia, a fortified headquarters that was shelled.
Noriega fled during the attack and a manhunt ensued. He finally turned up in the Nunciature of the Vatican embassy in Panama, where he had taken refuge. U.S. troops set up a perimeter outside this building, which as an embassy was considered sovereign soil of the Vatican and could not be taken directly, as this would be considered an invasion of the Vatican City. The troops guarding it used psychological warfare, attempting to force him out by playing hard rock music outside the residence. [link] (PDF file)
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 he stand trial for human rights violations, Noriega surrendered on January 3, 1990.
Trial
Mugshot of Noriega
Noriega was flown to the U.S. and tried on eight counts of drug trafficking, racketeering, and money laundering in April 1992. His trial was held in Miami, Florida.
The prosecution presented a case that has been criticized by numerous observers. The prosecution's case was completely reworked several times because problems developed with the witnesses, whose stories contradicted one another. The U.S. attorney negotiated deals with 26 different drug felons, including Carlos Lehder, who were given leniency, cash payments, and allowed to keep their drug earnings in return for testimony against Noriega. Several of these witnesses had been arrested by Noriega for drug trafficking in Panama. Some witnesses later recanted their testimony, and agents of the CIA, Drug Enforcement Administration, Defense Intelligence Agency, and the Israeli Mossad, who were knowledgeable about Central American drug trafficking, have publicly charged that accusations were embellished. Noriega was found guilty and sentenced on September 16, 1992, to 40 years in prison for drug and racketeering violations. His sentence was reduced to 30 years in 1999.
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.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons website currently gives a projected release date of September 9, 2007. [link]
Noriega also used the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) as a means to launder his wealth. His personal banker, Amjad Awan, was a senior manager at BCCI, and then moved on to setup his own securities trading firm. Ultimately, BCCI's collapse was in part because of Noriega's laundering activities. (http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/04crime.htm)
External links
- [1989 Report on the situation of human rights in Panama by Inter-American Commission on Human Rights]
- [U.S. Marshals mugshot of Noriega]
- [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 York, a girl from a small Michigan town who was a pen pal with Noriega, beginning circa 1988
References
- CNN. [Newsmaker Profiles: Manuel Noriega]. United States of America: Cable News Network. 1988, 1992. (archive.org version retrieved on 2006-06-27)
- Cole, Ronald. [Grenada, Panama, and Haiti]. United States of America: Joint History Office – Defense Technical Information Center, US Department of Defense. 1998, 1999.
- 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.
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.