Noriega Extradition Reminiscent of Another Era

The quiet extradition of Manuel Noriega, former de facto ruler of Panama, to France, where he will be prosecuted for money laundering, brings to mind a time when U.S. foreign policy in the Americas involved questionable alliances, the consequences of which have reflected embarrassingly on the CIA and the U.S. government for years.

Noriega ruled Panama from 1983 to 1989, after the abrupt airplane death of general Torrijos, the man who oversaw the nationalization of the Panama Canal. Noriega was considered, initially, a top ally of the United States in South America, and an active supporter of CIA operations, on its payroll since the 1960s.

His dictatorship, nevertheless, strengthened ties with Colombian drug trafficking groups, coincided with an economic and political crisis in Panama and was known for its elimination of dissidents. Unable to account for its ally’s actions, the United States launched its invasion of Panama in 1989, dubbed Operation “Just Cause,” which overthrew Noriega’s government but left between 3,000 and 5,000 dead in the country.

Until extradited, Noriega man had been serving a 30-year sentence for money laundering and drug trafficking in Florida. France, requesting extradition in 2008, had tried the former dictator in absentia in 1999 and found him guilty of laundering 3 million dollars in 1988 from international banks into French accounts. Panama has also been asking for his extradition, charging him with political murder and corruption.

While not as discussed as its current policies in the Middle East, alleged U.S. influence upon state rule in Latin America during the 1970s and 80s has a controversial span and rather unpleasant implications, connecting the late Cold War administrations to the turbulent histories of dictatorships in the Dominican Republic, Chile, and Argentina.