Manuel Noriega Essay, Research Paper
Ahmad Abazari
12/3/99
Period 1
Manuel Noriega
Semester History Project
Introduction:
Manuel Noriega ( 1934- ? ) , former dictator of Panama, found guilty of drug trafficking, racketeering, and money laundering by the United States Jury. He was born in Panama City. After on a scholarship at the Chorrillos Military Academy in Lima, Peru, Noriega returned to Panama and was commissioned a sub-lieutenant in the National Guard. Close to the military strong adult male Omar Torrijos, Noriega advanced rapidly and was appointed main military intelligence when Torrijos seized power in 1969. In that place Noriega became the most feared adult male in the state. After the decease of Torrijos in an aeroplane clang on 1981, Noriega became main of staff to General Dario Pardes, caput of the National Guard. Noriega promoted himself and gained affectional control over the authorities. In 1986 charges of drug trafficking emerged, and in 1989 US forces invaded Panama, and in 1992 sentenced to 40 old ages imprisonment. Noriega will perchance be considered parole in the twelvemonth 2002.
Childhood & A ; Schooling:
Manuel Antonio Noriega was born on February 2, 1936, in Terraplen, Panama. Detailss on his early life are sketchy ; his male parent Ricaurte Noriega, was an accountant and earned a modest income making books for little concerns. His female parent Maria Moreno, worked as a cook and washwoman. It was ill-defined if his male parent and female parent were of all time married, although his male parent acknowledged paternity, by giving his boy a full name, Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno. Both of his parents left Manuel and the fortunes of his going could non be learned. His grandma raised him as an orphan. From Manuel’s childhood
he had entree to the presidential castle, the National Guard, and the Union Club. Turning up with foreign crewmans and cocottes and with a day-to-day life filled with inebriation and force, Noriega became street smart without going tough ( www.umi.com/support/k11/greatevents/noriega.html ) . His moniker was? Tony? which merely his friends called him. He was invariably beaten upon as a child because he was little for his age and the bigger childs would pick on him. He was caught and beaten adequate that by the clip he was a adolescent he carried a little handgun with him. As he grew older he was normally at the top of his category ; he began populating with Louis Carlos an organiser of the Socialist party and shortly besides became a recruit of the Socialist party. Noriega was non a full Panamanian, but his household line besides consisted of Spanish and African American races ; Panamanian people called them Creole. In Noriega’s high school yearbook he listed? President of the democracy, ? as his major end. In the late sixtiess Noriega was recruited as an clandestine agent for the CIA ( www.umi.com/support/k11/greatevents/noriega.html ) . He wanted to be a head-shrinker, and applied to the University of Panama Medical School, but did non acquire in. He changed his motivation to go a head-shrinker and sought to go a scientist. One of his friends Boris Martinez told him that he had run out of money to pay for the college and was traveling to graduate from military school in Mexico and measure up for 2nd lieutenant. This is when Noriega decided to fall in the military school and use for a high ranking soldier in the Nation Guard which he accomplished and found a repute a being one of the most feared work forces in Panama.
Military:
Because of Noriega’s cognition he was given a scholarship at the Chorrios Military Academy. After finishing the Academy one of his good friends Lieutenant Colonel Omar Torrijos gave him a high place in the National Guard as lieutenant. After Noriega became lieutenant he found a repute of being a really feared and powerful adult male. When the president of Panama Marco Robles was overthrown, Omar Torrijos took power and became general ; he helped Noriega to once more take an even higher place in the National Guard as captain. Noriega increased the size and the powers of the military, giving it command over much of Panama’s authorities and economic system. In a few months his one time good friend was accused of lese majesty, one time Torrijos heard this he wanted to go forth the metropolis to David fort. That dark while he was traveling at that place his plane crashed and he died. In the old ages after Torrijos’s decease, civilian and National Guard leaders maneuvered for power. In 1983 a victor emerged, that victor was Manuel Antonio Noriega. The former caput of the intelligence service was now the caput of the National Guard Noriega took power. Although he did non keep a political office, as commanding officer of the armed forces he controlled the authorities. Astute and ruthless, Noriega built up the size of the armed forces, which he renamed Panama Defense Forces, and greatly increased its power over the state’s political life and its economic system. Panama’s power had grown so much that it was being known of in the US, the States even gave economic support to the state ( Microsoft Encarta 99 ) . Although in many peoples eyes he was seen as an incompetent swayer because he merely cared about the power and growing of the armed forces.
Dictatorship:
The Noriega old ages witnessed widespread corruptness, repression of the political resistance, and a problem economic system. Noriega made small pretension of following the fundamental law and rigged elections. Noriega was accused of telling the anguish and slaying of a popular figure, Hugo Sapadaforas, in 1985, but when Panama’s president promised to look into, Noriega replaced him with another civilian. Noriega used the military to incarcerate, anguish, and sometimes kill his oppositions so that he was ever on top of things. Noriega besides was linked with the international narcotics trade. He was accused of assisting to smuggle
drugs and launder money for Colombian drug trusts. Even though Noriega’s power as a dictator was turning many of the states that helped Panama and traded with Panama easy stopped. His dealingss with the United Stated deteriorated. Noriega bean a long clip source for the US cardinal Intelligence Agency, and helped US functionaries to provide weaponries to conservative forces in Nicaragua. But by the 1980s, Noriega’s absolutism and his alleged links to the international drug trade caused the US to retreat its support for his authorities. At the same clip street demonstrators began to happen on a regular basis in Panama. Noriega’s absolutism abilities were neglecting him, although he still controlled his ground forces the people were get downing to doubt the authorities leader as being an able general. Noriega was at a ruin and he was now hearing that the US was believing about taking him to tribunal. Noriega would non stand for that so when the US sent military personnels to recover him he started go throughing out arms to civilians and stating them to hit and US military personnels.
The Test:
From 1982-1984, General Noriega and his cohorts allegedly allowed Panama
to go the trans-shipment point for 100s of kg of cocaine. In add-on to conspiring with the assorted drug trusts for cargos, money laundering operations and graft were platitude. Yielding to US force per unit area, in 1984 Noriega ordered a foray on cocaine operation, stopped an airborne trust cargo, and set-up a co-op between the US Drug Enforcement Agency ( DEA ) and his anti-drug unit. In operation Fishs ( a drug flop ) , Noriega’s work forces were instrumental in interchanging DEA-cartel communications, finally taking to the apprehension of 115 trafficking and ictus of over 10,000 lbs of cocaine ( Microsoft Encarta 99 ) . By 1988 his dealingss with the US began to turn, as it became evident that old activities of drug trafficking, racketeering, money laundering, and human rights misdemeanors were uninterrupted. General Noriega was indicted by the US lawyer’s office in Miami. In May of that twelvemonth the US authorities made a? good religion? supplication deal offer to the general. Some conditions of the understanding included dropping all condemnable charges against him and leting him free transition worldwide, in exchange for releasing control of the state and ne’er restarting to Panama. The understanding was at first accepted, but the rejected by Noriega. On December of 1989 the US military brought a US military invasion of Panama. 24,000 military personnels invaded the metropolis and, after a holdout, Noriega was finally taken captive and transported to the US for test. Once Noriega went to tribunal the federal prosecution was fraught with elusive yet insidious uses. US Attorney Lehtinen and his staff were unprepared from the oncoming of the test. The occupation of the prosecution was to turn out the General Noriega’s money came from a drug confederacy instead than transplant or corruptness ( www.biography.com ) . With accusals of running? the Enterprise? made against Noriega, the General, holding fallen from grace with the US, made accusals of a US? Enterprise? . With their claims came classified information, which would jeopardize national security. Noriega was seeking to give out information that he knew about the authorities to seek blackjacking them but it did non work. After many informants for the instance, and about eight months of testimony, the jury returned a finding of fact of guilty. On July 10, 1992 the former Panamanian strongman/dictator was sentenced to 40 old ages in prison on 8 histories of drug trafficking, racketeering and money laundering. He is soon expecting an entreaty of his sentence. General Manuel Antonio Noriega will function his sentence in his two-room cell/suite at Metropolitan Correction Center in Miami. He will perchance hold a opportunity for word in 2002. This is still a illustration of the human race being to defiant on war and the power it could be to 1s state
Decision:
Manuel Antonio Noriega went through much adversity through his life, from his parents go forthing him when he was really immature to his drug smuggling in the US. Manuel started from a street-smart male child to a leader of a state ; his assisting of the Colombian guerrilla combatants was the start of his power non merely in Panama but besides other parts of states. Manuel besides had many connexions and became really affluent through his drug trafficking and surety securing for terrorists and now is in gaol for it. Although Manuel is in prison right now he is populating in really good conditions, with a colour telecasting, a computing machine, a paper shredder, a bike, and a good supply of Oreo cookies. The Department of Justice because of national security grounds supplied all these fringe benefits for him. This was the concluding measure for Noriega when he was eventually arested in 1991, although I think this was a incorrect making by America, they are handling him as a male monarch, holding the cognition that he is a captive.
Bibliography
1. Kevin Buckley, Panama the Whole Story, New York: Simon & A ; Schuster, right of first publication 1991.
2. Manuel Noriega & A ; Peter Eisner, The Memories of Manuel Noriega America’s Prisoner, New York: Random House Inc. , 1997.
3. John Dinges, Our Man in Panama, New York: Random House Inc. , right of first publication 1990.
4. ? Noriega Morena, Manuel Antonio, ? Microsoft? Encarta. Copyright? 1994 Microsoft Corporation. Copyright? 1994 Funk & A ; Wagnalls Corporation. ( besides done with Encarta 99 )
5. hypertext transfer protocol: //search.biography.com/print_record.pl? id=6220
6. hypertext transfer protocol: //www.kipertek.com/forerunner/forerunner/X0256_hope_in_panama_1990.html
7. hypertext transfer protocol: //bush.cs.tamu.edu/bushlip/papers/1989/89090100.html
8. hypertext transfer protocol: //www.umi.com/support/k11/greatevents/noriega.html
9. hypertext transfer protocol: //www.umi.com/hp/support/k12/greatevents/noriega.html
323
