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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.

Secretary of State Mark Ritchie was a vocal opponent of the Voter ID bill throughout the legislative session. But once the Legislature passed the Voter ID amendment and put it on the ballot, he had an obligation to cease his resistance to the measure. As our chief elections official, Ritchie will be responsible for tallying the ballots on the Voter ID amendment this November. His continued advocacy against Voter ID undermines the credibility of his office. Ritchie has gone beyond simply campaigning against Voter ID. He is now actively seeking to dupe voters into voting against Voter ID using false...

As a black man, I love it when ignorant white women like Janeane Garofalo speak for all blacks. It’s thrilling to me that Janeane would take time out of her busy Hollyweird life to protect me and my peeps — the downtrodden, the oppressed…the lowly Negro. For her efforts, I thank Garofalo, and anoint her Janeane Garofalo: White Chick Protector of the Lowly Negro. Who better than she to offer such protection? Garofalo, after all is an American hero! And I bet you were wondering who could possibly replace the likes of Barbara Streisand or Susan Sarandon…Madonna? Garofalo is so...

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...

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...

Excerpt - MIAMI, United States (AFP) - US prosecutors on Tuesday filed a request to have former Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega extradited to France when he is released in September from a Miami prison where he is serving a drug trafficking sentence. Noriega was captured during the US invasion of Panama in 1989 and taken to the United States. That same year a French court sentenced him in absentia to 10 years in jail for money laundering. His Miami lawyer said he would vigorously fight the extradition request. ~ snip ~

The defense attorney for Manuel Noriega says the former Panamanian dictator is to be released from a Miami prison in September. Lisa Ferdinando reports from Miami. Noriega has been in U.S. custody since surrendering 17 years ago during the U.S. invasion of Panama. He is currently serving a 30-year sentence for drug trafficking and money laundering. "He has now come to the point where he has served what is known as his mandatory release time, which means the government must release him from custody on September 9th this year," said Frank Rubino, Noriega's attorney. Rubino says good behavior was...

The girl of the Noriega General named with the consulate from Panama in Miami PANAMA - One of the girls of the former strong man of Panama, the Manual General Noriega, was named as diplomat with the consulate from Panama in Miami, announced the minister panaméen Foreign Affairs Samuel Lewis. His/her father is imprisoned there since 1990. Sandra Noriega "is a qualified person who has the right to serve her country", affirmed Friday the minister. The father of the diplomat directed Panama of 1981 to 1989, after death in an air crash of the president panaméen Omar Torrijos, father...