Historical Figure
Manuel Noriega
d. 2017
Military dictator of Panama from 1983 to 1989
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Biography
Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno was a Panamanian military officer and politician who was the de facto ruler of Panama from 1983 to 1989. He never officially served as president of Panama, instead ruling as an unelected military dictator through puppet presidents. Amassing a personal fortune through drug trafficking operations by the Panamanian military, Noriega had longstanding ties with American intelligence agencies before the United States invasion of Panama removed him from power.
Timeline
The story of Manuel Noriega, told in moments.
Helps Omar Torrijos seize power in a coup. Becomes head of military intelligence. Starts working with the CIA. Provides intelligence on Cuba, funnels arms to the Contras, and runs drugs through Panama. Washington knows. Washington doesn't care. Yet.
Becomes de facto ruler of Panama as head of the military after maneuvering through a succession of puppet presidents. He's simultaneously on the payroll of the CIA, the DEA, and the Medellin cartel.
U.S. forces invade Panama in Operation Just Cause. 27,000 troops to arrest one man. Noriega hides in the Vatican embassy. The Army plays rock music at full volume outside. He surrenders on January 3. Somewhere between 200 and 3,000 Panamanians die in the invasion.
Dies in a Panama City hospital after brain surgery. He was 83. He'd served time in U.S., French, and Panamanian prisons. Twenty-eight years total between capture and death.
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