Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega dies at 83

Manuel Noriega.
(Image credit: AFP/Getty Images)

Manuel Noriega, who ruled Panama as a military dictator from 1983 until he was ousted by U.S. troops in 1989, has died, the government of Panama announced early Tuesday. He was 83.

Noriega was in poor health, and after undergoing brain surgery in March, he suffered a brain hemorrhage and was placed in a medically induced coma. Born in Panama City on Feb. 11, 1934, Noriega was a career soldier. Beginning in the late 1950s up until the 1980s, Noriega worked with the CIA, while at the same time trafficking cocaine. He was indicted by the United States in early 1989 on charges of racketeering, laundering drug money, and drug smuggling, and in 1990, after spending 10 days in the Vatican's diplomatic mission in Panama City, he surrendered.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.