Ex-Dictator
Manuel Antonio Noriega: In Happier Days …
Critica, Panama
In U.S. and Panama,
Noriega is an Electoral 'Hot Potato'
"All indicators
are that elements in Panama and the United States are stalling for time. No one
wants a hot potato like Noriega on their hands this close to election season."
EDITORIAL
By Barbara Howe
July 19, 2007
Panama - Critica - Home Page (Spanish)
The
petition of U.S. Justice Department district attorneys to extradite former general
Manuel Antonio Noriega to France is without doubt an initiative of a political nature.
Since
1991, governments of Panama have sought the extradition of the former Defense
Forces chief, so that he could serve his 61-year prison sentence. In France, a
country that once decorated Noriega with the Medal Honor of the Foreign Legion,
Noriega was condemned to 10 years in jail for money laundering. With his
extradition to this European nation, he is promised a new trial as a prisoner
of war of United States.
There reality
is that the French charges against Noriega are almost identical to those for
which he was convicted in Miami. A good lawyer could then assert the principle
that no one should be judged twice for the same crime, in which case the
ex-dictator would go free.
[Noriega's
legal status in France
is as follows: In July of 1999, a penal court in Paris
condemned Noriega and his wife Felicidad
for conducting financial transactions with funds originating from
drug-trafficking. Noriega and Felicidad
were tried in absentia, sentenced to 10 years in prison each, and ordered to
pay fines of over $30 million. A French tribunal issued arrest warrants for
Noriega and Felicidad; the whereabouts of
Noriega was well-known, of course, but not Felicidad's.
It is rumored that Felicidad
has quietly returned to Panama, and if so, France
admits that it will not be able to extradite her
because the Panamanian Constitution prohibits extradition].
All indicators are that elements in Panama and the United States
are stalling for time. No one wants a hot potato like Noriega on their hands
this close to election season.
We will need
to wait until after elections in the United States and those in Panama to know what
luck the ex-general will have. What we can forecast is that Manuel Antonio
Noriega Morena will not be in Panama, at least until after May 2009.
Perhaps due
to his prisoner of war status, he'll still be in legal limbo when he leaves
prison in September, or perhaps he’ll be transported to Paris where he'll
remain for some months.
There are
those who wager that once he overcomes his legal situation in France, Noriega
will return to Panama and remain in prison for several weeks. But then
something similar to what occurred in the case of the former manager of the
National Bank, Rafael Arosemena will occur: they will award him some form of preliminary
probation.
Spanish Version
Below
Noriega a Francia
La petición de Fiscales norteamericanos para que la justicia de Estados Unidos extradite al exgeneral Manuel Antonio Noriega a Francia,
sin duda que encierra una iniciativa
de carácter político.
Los gobiernos de Panamá habían solicitado desde 1991 la extradición del exjefe de las
Fuerzas de Defensa, para que cumplan
condenas por 61 años de prisión. En Francia, país
que condecoró a Noriega con
la medalla de la Legión Extranjera, Noriega fue condenado a 10 años de cárcel por lavado
de dinero. Con su extradición a la nación europea se le promete un nuevo juicio
al prisionero de guerra de los Estados Unidos.
Existe una realidad, los cargos que se le formulan a Noriega en Francia son casi los mismos por
los que fue
condenado en Miami. Un buen abogado puede
alegar el principio que nadie puede
ser juzgado dos veces por las mismas
causas y entonces el exdictador saldría libre.
Todo pareciera
indicar que sectores en Panamá y en Estados Unidos están ganando tiempo. Nadie quiere tener a una papa caliente como Noriega entre
sus manos en las cercanías de un proceso electoral.
Habrá que esperar hasta después
de las elecciones en Estados Unidos y las de Panamá, para saber la suerte que correrá el exgeneral. Lo que se vislumbra
es que Manuel Antonio
Noriega Morena, no estará en Panamá
hasta después de mayo del 2009.
Quizás
en septiembre cuando salga de prisión su situación quede
en un limbo jurídico, debido a su condición
de prisionero de guerra o tal vez se le traslade
a París, donde permanecerá por algunos meses.
Hay quienes apuestan que una vez
sea superado su situación jurídica en Francia, Noriega volverá a Panamá y permanecerá algunas semanas en prisión, pero luego
sucederá algo similar a lo ocurrido con el exgerente del Banco Nacional,
Rafael Arosemena: se le otorgará una
medida cautelar.