Manuel Antonio Noriega, the military strongman who took power in Panama in 1983 and was removed by US forces six years later, has died in Panama City. He was 83.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Bentley
Advertisement
Manuel Noriega: death of a dictator
Ex-Panamanian military strongman Manuel Noriega has died in hospital at age 83. DW takes a look at the political rise of the one-time US ally and his subsequent fall from grace.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/R. Arangua
Military life
Born in 1934 to a poor family in Panama City, Manuel Antonio Noriega had an early start in the military. After receiving a scholarship to study at a Peruvian military academy, he joined Panama's National Guard and rose quickly through its ranks.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/A. Murillo
CIA spy
Noriega worked as a CIA informant for decades and had a cozy relationship with the United States before taking power in Panama in 1983. The dictator ruled with an iron fist, kidnapping political opponents, ordering their deaths and forging election results. He also made millions moving cocaine for Colombian drug cartels, even as he continued working closely with Washington.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/J. Ellis
Friend to foe
Noriega's ties to drug trafficking eventually caused his relationship with the United States to break down. In the late 80s, officials within his own government accused him of corruption, setting off mass protests. The US withdrew support for its former ally and mounted an invasion of Panama in 1989.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/B. Sullivan
Convicted drug trafficker
US troops arrived in Panama on December 20 and quickly wrested control of the country from Panamanian forces. Noriega disappeared into hiding, surfacing days later in the Vatican Embassy in Panama City. He surrendered to US forces on January 3, 1990 and was taken to Florida, where he was imprisoned for 17 years on drug-running and racketeering charges.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Us Marshall
'Pineapple face'
Noriega, who was sometimes nicknamed "Pineapple face" for his acne scars, appeared to soften in prison. In 2015, he apologized for his regime's abuses in an interview with Panama's Telemetro television network, saying he wanted to "close the cycle" of the military era.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo
Life behind bars
Noriega spent much of the latter part of his life in prison - in the US, France and Panama - for crimes ranging from drug trafficking to racketeering and murder. In this 2011 photo, Noriega is seen arriving at Renacer prison in Panama to serve three 20-year terms for the disappearance of political rivals during his rule. He had been granted temporary release in February 2017 to undergo surgery.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/R. Arangua
6 images1 | 6
Ex-military dictator Manuel Noriega died overnight in Panama City's Santo Tomas hospital, government officials confirmed Tuesday.
Panama's president, Juan Carlos Varela, made the announcement on Twitter, saying Noriega's death "closed a chapter of our history."
The former military strongman and onetime US ally was transferred from a Panamanian jail to house arrest in late January to prepare for the brain surgery.
Noriega had worked closely with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for decades before taking power in Panama in 1983, where he set up an authoritarian regime, kidnapping political opponents and forging election results.
Despite the millions he earned in drug deals, Noriega considered himself a man of the peopleImage: picture-alliance/AP Photo/J. Hopper,
Rise to power
Born February 11, 1934, into a poor family, Noriega began his military career early on. He won a scholarship to study at a Peruvian military academy and in 1962 joined Panama's Defense Forces, where he rose quickly through the ranks.
He backed a 1968 coup staged by General Omar Torrijos and was rewarded for his loyalty. Under Torrijos he was promoted to secret police chief and served as a key lieutenant for more than a decade. At the same time, he was working closely with the CIA.
Two years after Torrijos' mysterious death in a plane crash in 1981, Noriega took charge of the country's National Guard and became the de facto head of government. He ruled the tiny Central American country with an iron fist from 1983 to 1989.
Noriega spent his last decades in prisonImage: picture-alliance/dpa/Us Marshall
'Pineapple face'
Noriega soon developed a reputation for the brutal methods he used to consolidate power - from executing his rivals to allegedly plotting secret arms deals for the US government. He also made millions trafficking cocaine for Colombian drug cartels, all the while working as a key Washington ally.
For that reason, Noriega - nicknamed "pineapple face" for his acne scars - is often described as an opportunistic figure who juggled relationships with Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, Cuba's Fidel Castro and several foreign intelligence services.
The dictator's alliance with the US fell apart in the late 1980s, mainly due to his close connections to drug cartels. He also faced trouble at home. Mounting allegations of corruption triggered public protests, setting the foundation for Washington's plan to remove him.
Life in prison
Former US President George H.W. Bush ordered the invasion of Panama in December 1989. Hundreds of civilians were killed in the operation, which ended with Noriega's surrender in early January 1990. He was arrested as a prisoner of war and jailed in the US for drug trafficking and racketeering.
In 2010, he was extradited to France to face money laundering charges. One year later, he was sent back to Panama, where he had been sentenced in absentia to three 20-year prison terms for crimes committed during his rule. Panamanian authorities rejected multiple requests for the ex-dictator to serve out his sentence under house arrest due to ill health, including respiratory problems, prostate cancer and depression.
Miss USA Christy Fichtner and Miss Panama Gilda Garcia Lopez pose for a picture with Noriega in 1986Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/J. Ellis
Noriega never acknowledged his crimes, but in a 2015 interview on Panamanian television he apologized "to anybody who felt offended, affected, prejudiced or humiliated by my actions."
"I feel like as Christians we all have to forgive," he said, reading from a handwritten statement. "The Panamanian people have already overcome this period of dictatorship."
Noriega is survived by his wife Felicidad and their three daughters Sandra, Lorena and Thays.
Manuel Noriega: death of a dictator
Ex-Panamanian military strongman Manuel Noriega has died in hospital at age 83. DW takes a look at the political rise of the one-time US ally and his subsequent fall from grace.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/R. Arangua
Military life
Born in 1934 to a poor family in Panama City, Manuel Antonio Noriega had an early start in the military. After receiving a scholarship to study at a Peruvian military academy, he joined Panama's National Guard and rose quickly through its ranks.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/A. Murillo
CIA spy
Noriega worked as a CIA informant for decades and had a cozy relationship with the United States before taking power in Panama in 1983. The dictator ruled with an iron fist, kidnapping political opponents, ordering their deaths and forging election results. He also made millions moving cocaine for Colombian drug cartels, even as he continued working closely with Washington.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/J. Ellis
Friend to foe
Noriega's ties to drug trafficking eventually caused his relationship with the United States to break down. In the late 80s, officials within his own government accused him of corruption, setting off mass protests. The US withdrew support for its former ally and mounted an invasion of Panama in 1989.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/B. Sullivan
Convicted drug trafficker
US troops arrived in Panama on December 20 and quickly wrested control of the country from Panamanian forces. Noriega disappeared into hiding, surfacing days later in the Vatican Embassy in Panama City. He surrendered to US forces on January 3, 1990 and was taken to Florida, where he was imprisoned for 17 years on drug-running and racketeering charges.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Us Marshall
'Pineapple face'
Noriega, who was sometimes nicknamed "Pineapple face" for his acne scars, appeared to soften in prison. In 2015, he apologized for his regime's abuses in an interview with Panama's Telemetro television network, saying he wanted to "close the cycle" of the military era.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo
Life behind bars
Noriega spent much of the latter part of his life in prison - in the US, France and Panama - for crimes ranging from drug trafficking to racketeering and murder. In this 2011 photo, Noriega is seen arriving at Renacer prison in Panama to serve three 20-year terms for the disappearance of political rivals during his rule. He had been granted temporary release in February 2017 to undergo surgery.
