Noriega to Return to Panama

Will Panama greet Manuel Noriega with loud rock music? A French court ruled Wednesday that former Panama dictator could return to Panama to serve time for his past crimes. Noriega, a onetime CIA asset who was ousted in 1989 and then forced out his hiding place in the Vatican by loud rock music, has served the past 20 years behind bars in Florida, on drug charges, and France, on money laundering. Panama wants Noriega to return to serve prison terms for embezzlement, corruption and murder—which he was charged with in absentia. Noriega, 70, said he was eager to return to his homeland to “prove my innocence.”