Posted on 05/29/2017 11:08:30 PM PDT by Timpanagos1
Manuel Antonio Noriega, the brash former dictator of Panama and sometime ally of the United States whose ties to drug trafficking led to his ouster in 1989 in what was then the largest American military action since the Vietnam War, has died. He was 83.
President Juan Carlos Varela of Panama announced Mr. Noriega’s death on Twitter early Tuesday morning.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
I got there a couple weeks after “the war”. Totally different place. I spent almost 5 years there and it was one long tropical vacation.
Yup. Read Divorcing the Dictator. There was another bio at the time I read as well. All but says straight up that Bush Sr had left some damaging video behind that Noriega used to leverage cover for Escobar. The first two bombs during the “invasion”? Into the bunker where noriega kept his videos of US politicians.
“Oxycuted”! Lol!!
Years later I read he did repent and actually started evangelizing his guards. When he was released he went somewhere to do missionary work in a new ID (”The Families” of Panama would have killed him). Interesting story all around. Seems Panama was run by a few wealthy Panmanians that consider themselves “elite” known as “rabi blancos”. They hated Noriega and as he had risen from the bastard son of one of the “elite” families maids, he hated them back. But he could get “the little people” to vote for him. He ran for office as one of them who made good.
Sound familiar?
I know the man that led him to Christ and baptized him in prison.
Piña Mortada
Damn. We’ll, never find out what he knew...
How do you know this?
Maybe his mentor and enabler, Jimmah Cottah, will join him in hell, soon.
IIRC, that man was holed up in an embassy for days and the good guys outside were loudly playing a song non-stop. It was “I fought the law, and the law won!”
I was deployed to the Panama Canal Zone when “Manni” was on our CIA payroll and our Government winked at his choice of lifestyle. If I remember right our Government was paying him right up until we found him an embarrassment and the decision was made to invade? But I was no longer active duty by then so Don’t mean nothin! It was fun doing a sneak and peak when Fidel Castro visited and all the Panamanian and Cuban cigarmen jumped in the water so their leaders could save face-at the dedication of the Madden Dam project.
Yes - he is with the Lord, cleansed and washed by the blood of Jesus - same as all of us who believe......FORGIVEN! And now a saint.......
I heard that following his conversion there was true evidence of his faith being quite real - a changed life.
Praise God for Amazing Grace.....
Wow haven’t heard that. Even Jesus is there for dictators. Too bad others in the past did not accept Him.
I wonder how the people reacted?
“I wonder how the people reacted?”
They drank Piña Coladas.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.