Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega is slated to return to his home country this weekend after spending more than 20 years in prison in the United States and France.
Foreign Minister Roberto Henriquez stated that Noriega, who ruled Panama with an iron fist in the 1980s before he was ousted by the United States over drug trafficking, would be extradited from France to Panama on Sunday.
Noriega was originally convicted in the United States but is wanted in Panama for other crimes he committed during his rule.
“Panama is ready to receive Noriega,” Roxana Mendez, Panama’s Cabinet chief, told AFP, saying he will be sent to the El Renacer prison.
Noriega was once considered a U.S. ally in the region but was accused later of turning his country into a primary drug trafficking hub and colluding with Colombian drug cartels. He was ousted from power in 1990 after the United States invaded Panama.
He was convicted and sentenced in Miami after he was taken away from Panama and later received a seven-year prison sentence in France.
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