Why Paris Wants Panama's
Former Strong Man
Radio Netherlands
Worldwide,
Interview by Barry
Thorne
With a French request
for the extradition of
Panama's former dictator
to be heard in the US on
Tuesday, we take a look
at the complicated
history of the man
himself, Manuel Noriega,
and the reasons why
Paris wants him turned
over.
Espionage, organized
crime, ruthless power
politics and courtroom
drama - with the main
protagonist being a
double-dealing military
man who knows the
secrets of former US
presidents. It might
sound like the stuff of
a best-selling thriller,
but this isn't fiction:
it's the true story of
Manuel Noriega, the man
who ruled Panama in the
1980s.
Two requests
Having now served 15
years in a US prison, he
is due for release next
month, but two countries
are already competing to
extradite him: his
homeland, Panama, and
France, whose
extradition request will
be heard this Tuesday.
Given that the story of
how Noriega went from
Latin American dictator
to a wanted criminal in
France is very much
thriller material, who
better to provide a
concise version than R.M.
Koster, novelist, New
York Times journalist
and author of a history
of Panama called In the
Time of the Tyrants.
Radio Netherlands
Worldwide's Barry Thorne
spoke to him and began
by asking him to explain
how Noriega came to
power:
"He was a kind of
unholy trinity of
dictator, trafficker and
espionage agent, and the
different persons of
that unholy trinity
began to clash. For
example, when he helped
the US out: they were
bringing guns to Central
America, using airstrips
and pilots that Noriega
provided, and this was
illegal because Congress
had banned it. Noriega
helped them out doing
this - that was Noriega
the secret agent; but
Noriega the criminal
couldn't resist putting
drugs on the planes that
went back to Texas. That
put the United States on
both sides in the drug
war."
"The whistle was blown
by a fellow called Hugo
Spadafora, and the CIA
authorized Noriega to
kill him. But Noriega
the dictator couldn't
resist killing him in a
very spectacular
fashion: having him
beheaded, putting the
beheaded body into a US
mailbag, etc., etc. And
that drew a lot of
attention to the
relationship between
Noriega and the United
States, and it began the
lovers' quarrel - that
was in 1985 - that ended
four years later in the
invasion of Panama and
the removal of Mr
Noriega."
R.M. Koster on a
potential negative
consequence of the
French extradition
request being granted:
"It's interesting to
know what might happen
now when he goes to
France, for he had
knowledge of high crimes
and misdemeanours on the
part of George H. W.
Bush, and that was one
of the reasons why he
was captured."
"It'd be interesting now
whether he might in
France make declarations
that might be
interesting politically
in the US."
French connection
Now, almost 20 years on
from his seizure by the
US, Noriega is about to
be released from jail.
But before that happens,
there's the small matter
of the extradition
request from France.
Just why does Paris want
him? R.M. Koster:
"The French are
wonderful. They gave
Noriega the Legion
d'Honneur because he was
the midwife between
France and Argentina
during the Falkland
Islands war, getting
Exocet missiles from
France for Argentina
and, in passing, doing
France a tremendous
amount of good: not only
the money they made, but
it was a wonderful
advertisement for their
weapons industry."
"Noriega had a lot of
property in France,
maybe more than ten
million dollars worth of
property, and the French
tried him under their
drug laws and money
laundering laws in order
to confiscate his
property. I believe this
extradition request was
asked for by the US and
Panama as a means of
keeping Noriega away
from here where his
presence would certainly
disturb the political
ecology."
"All of Noriega's
friends are currently in
power here and they
don't want him back -
except for a few -
because they are afraid
that he might be annoyed
by the fact that they
are doing very well
while he was in jail.
The democratic elements
in Panama certainly
don't want him back. And
so the government was
forced to ask for his
extradition, because
he's been tried and
convicted here of
important crimes,
including murder. But
they asked for it 'Sotto
Voce' as you might say:
they whispered it."
"Meanwhile, the United
States - I believe -
asked the French to help
them out and put in an
extradition request. The
French have done so and
I expect it to be
honoured by the United
States government." |
