[NYTr] US hopes to stop Noriega from being freed

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

sent by MichaelP (activ-l)

[Which of the warlords was crossed by Noriega, an asset of the US War
Machine? -M.]

Daily Telegraph -(UK) - Aug 13, 2007
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/08/13/wnoriega113.xml

US HOPES TO STOP MANUEL NORIEGA FROM BEING FREED

Gen Noriega still enjoys support within Panama's ruling party

By Andrew Beatty in Panama City

Manuel Noriega, the drug-running former dictator captured after the 
American invasion of Panama in 1989, is days away from release from a 
Miami jail. But if the United States has its way, the veteran Latin 
American strongman will not taste freedom for a long time yet.

At  a hearing today, US authorities hope a court will rule that rather 
than  be allowed to return home, the 72-year-old will be extradited to 
France, where he faces 10 more years in jail for money laundering.

General  Noriega  was a key ally of George Bush Snr in the covert wars 
against  Central  American  communists,  before  he  was  vilified  by 
Washington as a drugs baron. His planned release for good behaviour on 
Sept  9  after  serving 15 years of a 40-year sentence is worrying the
US, which fears his return to Panama could destabilise the country.

Although  he  faces  legal  challenges  at  home  over  the  deaths of 
opponents during his 1983-1989 military rule, Gen Noriega still enjoys 
support  within  Panama's  ruling  party,  which he founded, and among 
ordinary Panamanians.

"I  am  not  a Noriegista, but things were a lot better when he was in 
power,"  said  Felipe,  a 47-year-old Panama City taxi driver. "We had 
more money. He would not have tolerated this much crime." advertisement

With  15  per  cent  of  US trade passing through the Panama Canal and 
plans  afoot to widen the waterway, the US is keen to keep Gen Noriega
out of the country.

The  extradition  case stems from a 1999 ruling in a French court that 
convicted  Gen  Noriega  and  his  wife,  Felicidad,  in  absentia for 
laundering more than $3 million to buy three apartments in Paris.

Today,  his  lawyer  Frank  Rubino  will  present a petition of habeas 
corpus  against  his  extradition  to  France.  Mr  Rubino claims that 
because  the  general was captured in an invasion in 1989 and has been 
designated  a  prisoner  of  war by a US court, he must be repatriated 
under the Geneva Conventions.

Mr  Rubino  told The Daily Telegraph that the general, who has claimed
to have  rediscovered  Christianity while in jail, was keen to return
home to be near his family.

If  the  court rules in the former dictator's favour, the Secretary of 
State,  Condoleezza Rice, would have the power to overrule it. However
the US  would  then  face heavy criticism for disregarding the Geneva 
Conventions.  If the court rules in favour of extradition, there would
be a  final hearing on the details of the case against Gen Noriega at
the end of the month.

The  US  invaded  Panama  in 1989 after sanctions and local opposition 
forces  failed to oust Gen Noriega. From the late 1950s to 1986 he had 
been a key US ally in the region and had worked for the CIA while also 
dealing in drugs and mixing with Colombian cartel bosses.

As  his  military  regime  tightened  its  grip and Gen Noriega became 
increasingly critical of Washington, the US took action to remove him.

Panama's  government  is  under  pressure to secure his return to face 
allegations  that  he  ordered  several murders, including that of the 
opposition  leader Hugo Spadafora, who was tortured and decapitated in 
1985. Civil rights activists say recent changes in the penal code mean
Gen Noriega  could face only house arrest, for a maximum of 20 years,
despite already  being  sentenced  in  absentia on multiple counts of
murder.

It  emerged  last  month  that  some  of  Gen Noriega's many mansions, 
including  one  in  the upmarket San Francisco neighbourhood of Panama 
City,  were  being  fumigated  and cleaned after standing derelict for 
almost 18 years.