NORIEGA MEMORANDUM TO THE PRESS:

COHA is actively monitoring the joint U.S.-French effort to extradite former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega to France pending the imminent completion of his sentence in a Florida prison. U.S. Judge William Hoeveler has just temporarily stayed the extradition request, allowing Noriegas’s lawyers to put together a defense centered on the issue of the French treating Noriega as a common criminal and not as a prisoner of war, a status that would warrant the invoking of the Geneva Convention. During these proceedings, Noriega will remain in prison. Watch for more information about the Noriega case to be released by COHA in the next few days. COHA will also be issuing several memorandums on the Noriega era, including material pointing to U.S. complicity in support of the Panamanian strongman's rule, which gradually witnessed the conversion from U.S policy backing Noriega to being adamantly opposed to his rule. This ended up with the launching of "Operation Just Cause" against him and resulted in his capture and lengthy prison term. This COHA material will highlight Noriega's status as evolving from being a C.I.A. asset as a young military cadet to a target for U.S. elimination. In the meantime, if you have any questions in regards to the Noriega case, please do not hesitate to contact COHA's staff at 202-223-4975 or at coha@coha.org.