April 26th, 2010
06:28 PM ET

Former Panamanian leader to be extradited

[Updated at 6:27 p.m.] Read the full CNN.com story

[Updated at 5:16 p.m.] Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signed a surrender warrant, which was the last step to make Noriega's extradition possible, State Department spokesman Charles Luoma-Overstreet told CNN.

Noriega, who has been in U.S. custody since serving a sentence here, was placed aboard an Air France flight to Paris by U.S. marshals Monday afternoon, a senior federal law enforcement officer told CNN.

[Posted at 5:09 p.m.] Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega was cleared by the United States for extradition to France, the State Department said Monday.

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Filed under: Manuel Noriega • World
soundoff (12 Responses)
  1. Montie Sue

    Good now he's some body else's problem.

    April 26, 2010 at 5:31 pm | Report abuse |
  2. matt

    Good- Let France pay for housing him. Stupid guy has been in prison for a long time. Let him go there to rot for the rest of his life. Unless, of course, the French make some deal on the backend.

    April 26, 2010 at 5:32 pm | Report abuse |
  3. Robert

    Yeah,,, That makes a lot of sense. There's foul play going on there, I'm not buying it...

    April 26, 2010 at 5:33 pm | Report abuse |
  4. Jay

    I by no means think this man should be freed BUT why would we extradite anyone to France when they do not reciprocate.

    April 26, 2010 at 5:36 pm | Report abuse |
  5. BrickellPrincess

    What a bunch of crooks! They have officially granted him a pardon. France, in agreement with the United States, will now put him through a public song and dance and then release him. They're going to make it look like he's facing the full brunt of the French justice system when in fact, this is the United States sneaky way of granting him a full pardon and setting him free. Shame!

    April 26, 2010 at 5:38 pm | Report abuse |
  6. Mr.SouthMetroAtlanta

    Mr. Manuel Noriega seems to be a thorn in America's side. The case surrounding the U.S. invading Panama and routing him up and imprisoning him smelled of something foul. I believed it then and believe it now. These actions are politically motivated. Noriega is lucky he hasn't been "accidentally" killed.

    April 26, 2010 at 5:40 pm | Report abuse |
  7. Nabeel

    Well ... he fared better than other CIA propped up leaders. Hussein, Pinochet ... the only sad thing about it is that people like Karzai and BiBi probably wont reach the same fate

    April 26, 2010 at 5:42 pm | Report abuse |
  8. Jim

    Why are we spending tax payer money on this fool?

    April 26, 2010 at 5:44 pm | Report abuse |
  9. ERICA

    what this article fails to mention is that before he became a dictator, Noriega was on the CIA payroll (thanks to Bush Sr). When he failed to give into the American government's demands to increase military presence in the Panama Canal Zone, Bush and the Am. government labelled him a "narco-terrorist." Just like the current "war on terror," labelling Noriega as a "narco terrorist," was simply done to maintain naivety amongst the American public and provide a justification to carry out their empire-building, To this day, I wonder if Americans actually know why Panama was invaded in 1989.

    April 26, 2010 at 5:51 pm | Report abuse |
  10. Bernie Krause

    Would sure love to hear Norieaga's account of his once-close relationship with George H.W. Bush and other U.S. politicians who helped sustain his power in Panama.

    April 26, 2010 at 5:55 pm | Report abuse |
  11. Patty

    Of course americans don't actually know why Panama was invaded...It was another NOT justified war started by the US.

    April 26, 2010 at 9:18 pm | Report abuse |
  12. Stephen Hall

    To bad the Bushes can't share some of his prison time. Bush Sr. & Ollie North are the ones who propped him up & laundered money through Panamanian banks.

    April 26, 2010 at 10:47 pm | Report abuse |
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