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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.

Beth Wilkinson (NBC, David Gregory's wife) is a partner at Latham & Watkins in Washington. A top counter-terrorism official in the Justice Department during the Clinton administration.

Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, serving a 20-year jail sentence in Panama, was hospitalized on Wednesday for what authorities say was a routine check-up though his attorney says he has been diagnosed with a brain tumor. "He will undergo several routine exams," Angel Calderon, head of Panama's jail system told Reuters, adding that Noriega suffered a bout of flu last week. But the former strongman's lawyer said Noriega's health has deteriorated due to poor treatment in jail for flu and fever, and a brain tumor recently detected by his doctors. … The 78-year-old Noriega, once Panama's drug-running military ruler, is...

Former military strongman Manuel Antonio Noriega was flown home to Panama on Sunday to be punished once again for crimes he committed during a career that saw him transformed from a close Cold War ally of Washington to the vilified target of a U.S. invasion.

I have not found any English language sources regarding this patriot of Panama. Freepers everywhere would have loved to meet a real man. One who stood up to Manuel "Pizza Face" Noriega and you may recall his famous photo wearing a blood stained shirt fighting off a kid. That kid was one of Noriega's goons. And yes, "Billy" told me that he clocked the kid but good. Truly a remarkable man and life. One morning, he actually flipped the bird to one of Noriega's helicopter gunships hovering right outside his apartment in the Paitilla neighborhood of Panama City. They couldn't...

Detainees or POWs? Ancient distinctions. By Mackubin Thomas Owens is professor of strategy and force planning at the Naval War College in Newport. His views do no necessarily reflect those of any agency of the U.S. government. January 24, 2002 8:55 a.m. as President Bush's decision launch a "war against terrorism" in response to September 11 now hoisted the United States on its own petard? That would seem to be the case as international organizations and even officials of allied countries such as Great Britain have intensified criticism of the United States concerning its treatment of captured al Qaeda and ...

Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega was put on a plane to France on Monday, after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signed extradition orders.

(English-language translation) MIAMI - Panamanian General Manuel Antonio Noriega appealed yesterday to the United States Supreme Court as a last legal recourse to avoid his extradition to France after an appeals court ruled that he may be sent to Paris, where he faces money-laundering charges. Seventy-three-year-old Noriega, who is serving a prison sentence in Miami for allowing cocaine shipments from the defunct Medellín Colombian drug cartel to Panama, went to the nation's highest court to argue that, being a prisoner of war, he must be sent back to Panama in accordance with the Geneva Convention.

Wow. It looks like the Noriega campaign is turning as dirty as the candidate himself. Their newest ad accuses John Cornyn of have ties to the now infamous Jack Abramoff. You can see the (terribly amateurish) ad at the link below, which for some reason I couldn't make a link. Hm. Whatev. In case you can't get to it, the ad accuses Cornyn of doing the "bidding of convicted felon Jack Abramoff." While the claim is vague, it likely is referring to the Tigua Indian's casino in El Paso, one of Abramoff's many undertakings. Here are some facts to ease...

The same thing that gives Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn headaches in his re-election campaign gives Democratic challenger Rick Noriega hope of an upset — an unsettled electorate that makes voter turnout hard to predict. The first-term senator wouldn't have anything to worry about in an ordinary election. A Democrat hasn't won a Senate race in Texas in 20 years or carried the state in a presidential contest in 30 years. Cornyn has led in the polls and enjoyed a fundraising advantage of almost 5-1 over Noriega. Nevertheless, the polls have never shown Cornyn with a lock on re-election...

With Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton at his side, Rick Noriega glimpsed the political limelight a Democratic Senate candidate would traditionally expect in South Texas a month before the election.

In attempts to hopelessly salvage the non-existent momentum from his failed Health Care Press Conference, Cornyn challenger Rick Noriega wrote into the Dallas Morning News in a humorous OP-ED piece. Noriega blasts Cornyn for voting "against expanding health insurance coverage for Texas kids." He later goes on to admit that Texas needs "real health care security for their families, lowered costs for employers, and more transparency and accountability than our current system provides. "I find this hysterical on multiple levels: 1) Cornyn worked to lower the cost of insurance coverage for employers, so essentially Noriega praises Cornyn's work. 2) The...

It appears that Camp Noriega held a fundraiser in London at the "Texas Embassy" in support of his campaign last week. The "Embassy" is a Tex-Mex restaurant in Trafalgar Square. The fundraiser brought in a ::brace yourselves everyone, this one's a killer:: monumental "$400.00! Woo hoo!!! They sure gave him a Texas sized welcome. There was about 12 people attending the fundraiser...all of which were Americans living in London. 3 were Texan. Here is some commentary from Camp Cornyn on the fundraiser: "As he was hauling in $400, Rick Noriega told his London supporters that Texas is "not quite meeting...

So in addition to the Demos attempting to cram down our throats an unqualified and inexperienced candidate for President...we've got to deal with the Wesley Clark backing Noriega. In a letter distributed to Noriega-ites, Clark talks about Senator Jim Webb's victory in Virginia against a Republican incumbent with a large war chest in the bank...expecting us to believe that Noriega can take Cornyn based on what exactly? Hope? Wishful thinking? Clark mentions how he is friends with Noriega: "I know Rick personally, and I know he'll be a great Senator for Texas." Well that's great Wes! But Texas needs more...

Matt Glazer of BurntOrangeReport successfully displays his inability to comprehend the needs of the US military. In his piece “Cornyn Responds to VoteVets” he attacks Senator Cornyn and argues in favor of the Webb-Hagel GI Bill. Contributor for RUF Aaron Schwitters, outlined the Webb-Hagel Bill perfectly in his piece "The Democrat Poison - Pill for the Military". Kevin McLaughlin, spokesman for the Cornyn campaign responded to the ad released by VoteVets.org. McLaughlin states: “The anti-war crowd is determined to use our men and women in uniform for their political advantage, even if our nation security is jeopardized in the process”....

It’s time to add United States Senator John Cornyn to the list of potentially vulnerable Republican incumbents in Election 2008. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state find Cornyn leading Democratic state legislator Rick Noriega by just four percentage points, 47% to 43%. Any incumbent who polls below 50% is considered potentially vulnerable. That is especially true when a little known challenger is so competitive in an early general election match-up. The race for President in Texas is also fairly competitive early in Election 2008. Noreiga leads among voters earning less than $40,000 a year. Cornyn leads among...

Afederal judge Friday denied former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega's request to halt his extradition to France on money-laundering charges related to his drug conviction in Miami. U.S. District Judge William Hoeveler rejected the former general's argument that because the judge had designated him as a prisoner of war after his sentencing in 1992, he was entitled to be returned to Panama under the Geneva Convention. Hoeveler's decision sets the stage for Noriega's extradition hearing before another judge in Miami on Tuesday. In his 12-page ruling, Hoeveler, who presided over Noriega's original trial, said that when he declared him a POW...

MIAMI - A judge refused Friday to block the extradition of former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega to France, where he is accused of laundering millions of dollars in drug proceeds through French banks. Senior U.S. District Judge William Hoeveler rejected arguments by Noriega's lawyers that his status as a U.S. prisoner of war negated the French request under the Geneva Conventions and required his return home to Panama. The decision, which could be appealed, means a hearing before another judge will go forward Tuesday on the extradition request. Hoeveler, in a 12-page decision, said his designation of Noriega as a...

MIAMI: Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, to be released from a U.S. prison in September, was due in court Monday for a hearing on an extradition request from France, which wants him to be tried there. Noriega, 72, is to leave a Miami prison Sept. 9 after serving 15 years for drug trafficking and racketeering. He wants to fly immediately to Panama to fight a conviction in the slayings of two political opponents, his lawyers have said. But American prosecutors are pushing for his extradition to France, where Noriega was convicted in absentia in 1999 on money-laundering charges. He was...

Jul 23, 2007 7:57 am US/Eastern Noriega's Lawyers To Challenge French Extradition (CBS4) MIAMI Lawyers for former Panamanian dictator Manual Noriega will challenge a new French extradition request in a Miami courtroom Monday on the grounds that it violates his rights as a prisoner of war. Noriega is currently behind bars in southwest Miami-Dade County. In 1992, he was convicted of protecting Colombian cocaine shipments through Panama into the U.S. during the 1980s. Federal prosecutors want to have Noriega extradited to France to face trial after the U.S. drug trafficking sentence he is serving ends in September. Noriega is charged...