Manuel Antonio Noriega, the brash former dictator of Panama
and sometime ally of the United States whose ties to drug trafficking led to his ouster in 1989 in what was then the largest American military action since the Vietnam War, died Monday night in Panama City.
Manuel Noriega, Dictator Ousted by U. S. in Panama, Dies at 83 -
By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLDMAY 30, 2017
Removing Manuel Noriega, the dictator of Panama, from power in 1989 not only entailed what was then the largest American military action since Vietnam,
but also set the stage for future actions by the United States.
Mr. Noriega, who became the de facto leader of the country by promoting himself to full general of the armed forces in 1983, had a decades-long, head-spinning relationship with the United States, shifting from cooperative ally
and informant for American drug and intelligence agencies to shady adversary, selling secrets to political enemies of the United States in the Western Hemisphere and tipping off drug cartels.
A White House statement as the invasion got underway said the United States had acted “to protect American lives, restore the democratic process, preserve the integrity of the Panama Canal treaties
and apprehend Manuel Noriega.” Political commentators assigned other motives, including a way for Mr. Bush to shake off perceptions of weakness; his poll numbers rose significantly after the invasion.
