This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/americas/6967255.stm
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Judge agrees Noriega extradition | Judge agrees Noriega extradition |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| A US federal judge has approved the extradition of former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega to France when his Florida jail sentence ends next month. | A US federal judge has approved the extradition of former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega to France when his Florida jail sentence ends next month. |
| Noriega faces 10 years in prison in France on money-laundering charges. | Noriega faces 10 years in prison in France on money-laundering charges. |
| Judge William Turnoff's decision was a formality after a judge last week rejected arguments by Noriega's lawyers that he should be returned to Panama. | |
| Noriega, 73, is due in September to end a 1992 prison term in Miami for drug-trafficking and racketeering. | |
| Last week, Noriega's lawyers failed to block the extradition bid when they tried to argue that his status as a US prisoner of war negated the request. | |
| Tried in absentia | |
| Noriega was made a POW after he was arrested during the US invasion of Panama more than 17 years ago. | |
| In a 12-page decision last Friday, Judge William Hoeveler said Noriega's status was not meant "to shield him from all future prosecutions for serious crimes he is alleged to have committed". | |
| The French authorities want his extradition so that he can serve out a sentence on a 1999 money-laundering conviction obtained in absentia. | |
| But Panamanian President Martin Torrijos has said he would like the former military leader returned to Panama to serve a sentence for the murder of a government opponent. | |
| Erstwhile ally | |
| Manuel Noriega was once one of Washington's top allies in Latin America, with close ties to former presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush Senior. | |
| The Panamanian military ruler was seen as a stalwart supporter in the fight against communism and drug-trafficking in the region. | |
| However, in 1988 a Florida court charged Noriega with helping Colombian drug-traffickers smuggle tons of cocaine into the US. | |
| The White House went on to accuse the Panamanian leader of election-rigging and violating human rights. | |
| In 1989, more than 20,000 US troops invaded Panama, ousting and detaining Noriega, who was replaced by Guillermo Endara. | |
| Among arguments used by President Bush to justify the invasion were alleged threats to the lives of US citizens in Panama and the neutrality of the Panama Canal, as well as need to combat the drugs trade. | |
| At least 200 Panamanian civilians were killed as US troops battled Noriega's security forces in an invasion condemned by the Organization of American States. | |
| Some researchers have said the overall number of Panamanian deaths amounted to several thousand. |