After serving prison time in the U.S. for drug trafficking and racketeering, and in France for embezzlement, former Panamanian dictator and drug dealer, Manuel Noriega, is serving a 60 year prison sentence for murder in this native Panama.
The 81-year-old Noriega has decided to finally come out and apology for his actions while he ruled his country with an iron fist.
In an interview with Panamanian TV station Telemetro, Noriega rendered this apology:
Manuel Noriega, the former Panamanian dictator, broke a long silence Wednesday and apologized for the excesses of the military regime that ruled the country for decades, according to media reports.
“I am asking for forgiveness from all the people who were offended, affected, hurt or humiliated by my actions or those of my superiors in compliance with orders, or those of my subordinates."
Following the invasion, he was taken to the U.S., and subsequently convicted of drug trafficking and racketeering charges in 1992. He served a prison sentence in the U.S. until 2010, when he was extradited to France, to serve time for a money laundering conviction. He is currently serving a 60-year sentence in Panama for murder, embezzlement and other crimes connected to the former military regime, Reuters reported.
Noriega was a central figure in the cocaine trade during the 1970s, and was closely linked to the notorious Medellin Cartel. Under his rule, traffickers were able to use Panama as a transit hub for their illicit product, and also to deposit the proceeds of the trade in the country's banks.-IBF
