Noriega prepares for la vie francaise

Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega is due to be released from his prison cell in Florida on Saturday, but he's leaving the frying pan for an express trip into the fire. An American judge ruled yesterday that the United States will not block an extradition request by the French government, clearing the way for the 69 year old (see footnote) dictator to spend his dotage in a Parisian prison. The former caudillo was tried and convicted in absentia in France on drug trafficking charges, and sentenced to 10 years in jail. The French, for their part, have promised to re-try Noriega upon his arrival in France, thereby extending his detention even further.

Noriega's lawyers have argued, not insensibly, that their client is a prisoner of war, and that he is entitled to return to Panama after the completion of his prison sentence. At first, Panama said they didn't want him back, but quickly changed their tune, saying that they intended to try Noriega themselves for his connections to a series of grisly politically motivated murders, and Panamanians are angry at being overlooked while the United States and France deal with their former military dictator. Barring any further complications, however, it looks like Noriega is still on track to head to France. Bon voyage, Manny?

Note: Noriega himself claims to have been born in 1934, which would make him 73 years old, but his court documents list him as being 69. Which figure is right is anyone's guess.

France wants a piece of Manny

Could prisoner number 38699-079 be headed for an all expenses paid vacation in France?

Yesterday, lawyers for the United States Department of Justice have filed a request before a federal judge in Miami to extradite former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega to France when his US prison term expires on September 9th of this year. The Justice Department is seeking an arrest warrant for Noriega to be issued the same day his sentence is up in Florida for extradition to France. The 69 year old Noriega was convicted in absentia in France for drug trafficking charges, and sentenced to 10 years in prison and a fine of 75 million French francs. It would appear that the French are really chomping at the bit to get their hands on them.

Noriega himself was hoping to return to Panama, but the Panamanian government has made it clear that they want nothing to do with their former caudillo whatsoever. Noriega's lawyers are arguing, with fairly good reasoning, that their client is a prisoner of war, and is entitled to return to his country of origin. Panama's refusal to take him back, combined with the determination of the Americans and French to see Noriega extradited strongly suggest that Manuel Noriega will be 80 years old, broke and homeless by the time he's finally had his fill of French liberté, and égalité - to say nothing of all the fraternité.

So where will Noriega go if he actually survives his French prison term? I'd be willing to bet that Hugo Chávez will have a spot ready for Noriega in Caracas. And why not? Military strongmen need to stick together after all, and as the saying goes, "any enemy of my enemy is a friend of mine".

UPDATE: The Panamanians want Noriega back after all - to try him for the murder of a political enemy whose severed head was found in a mailbag. Who gets him first, Panama, or France?

Memorable CIA failures revealed

For some inexplicable reason, people outside of the United States still regard the American Central Intelligence Agency with the fear and respect the organization hasn't commanded inside the United States since the end of the Cold War. For the most part, the CIA is a mere shadow of its former more infamous incarnation, and has more famous for interoffice leaks than heroic feats of international espionage. So why were they once so feared? This week, the CIA released its so called "family jewels", a treasure trove of previously classified information detailing the shady operations of the American spy agency.

So is there a dictator angle to any of these reports? You bet your ass there is. The CIA's role in bringing Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet to power is pretty old news, but the release of the jewels shows that the CIA had other dictators on their mind as well. The CIA's comically hamfisted attempts to knock off Cuban dictator Fidel Castro are also old hat, but the newly released documents reveal that the CIA tried to outsource getting rid of Castro to the midwestern branch of La Cosa Nostra (aka, "the mafia"). After arranging a relatively modest payment, the CIA provided the mob with a powerful poison to take out Castro. Apparently, the plan was abandoned when the mob's Cuban stringers got cold feet and gave up.

Another interesting revelation is that the CIA had hatched a hopelessly botched assassination plot against then Panamanian dictator Omar Torrijos, apparently to stall or possibly derail upcoming talks on the transfer of the Panama Canal from United States to Panamanian sovereignty. Apparently, word had leaked out to the press, forcing the CIA to cancel the plans and issue a denial to reporters. What it may have involved, or how it would have been pulled off is strictly a matter of conjecture.

Want to read more? Of course you do. Indulge yourself by clicking here, but be warned - there's a TON of information to download.

Manuel Noriega to be freed in September

Prisoner 38699-079 will be resuming use of his real name in 2007.

According to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons, former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega will be released from a Dade County, Florida prison on September 9, 2007 after completing his sentence on international drug trafficking and money laundering charges.

Noriega, who is now 72 years old, announced his intention to return to Panama to retire, but faces charges in Panama related to various crimes that dictators are wont to while in power, such as a string of murders, "disappearances" of political opponents, and heavy embezzlement. Noriega would hardly rank as a dictator of any merit if his abuses were minor enough for Panamanians to forgive and forget, after all.

Whatever his future, these things are certain: he won't be staying in Miami once he's out, and he's definitely crossed former President George Herbert Walker Bush off his Christmas card list forever (for some reason or other).