Noriega gets another seven years in prison. by Milota Sidorova

After twenty years spent in the U.S. Federal prison, Panama's strongman Manuel Noriega will spend another seven years in Parisian jail.76-years old Noriega was extradited from the U.S. on April 26th this year. Panama's ex-leader had been already sentenced into ten years in prison in absence back in 1999 and was also objected to pay up to 13.5 million euros. The reason would be the drug traffic and smuggling. Noriega's case took three-days trial in Parisian court and was pleaded guilty. His lawyers didn't succeed to prove ex-leader was a victim of U.S. conspiracy. But the charges also reached France, literally national banks where the amount of 2.3 million euros was laundere! d in late 1980's. The money came out from Medellin drug cartel and were supposed to pay three luxury apartments in French capital via Noriega's wife and a shell company. Noriega was trying to avoid the extradition from Miami prison for years. The French decision means that the old man may spend the last years of his life in the prison. The story of former leader was turbulent as well, since back in early 1980's he was Washington trusted ally and proved to be anti-communism fighter in Central Latin America at that time. Noriega's relations with Washington got frozen somewhere around 1988, when Florida court pleaded him guilty for drug trafficking charges. Noriega was believed to take control over drug lines between North and South America and raising money from it. But Washington reply followed soon. A full-scale 20,000-soldier strong U.S. invasion was meant to take control over Panama and to detain the leader. Noriega was captured, sentenced and put into a jail oblivion t! hat is apparently not going to end.

related story (sg x17798): http://www.france24.com/en/20100707-paris-court-sentences-no...

by Milota Sidorova for Cantell TV (http://cantell.tv)

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