Manuel Noriega, the former military ruler of Panama, was removed from power by a U.S. invasion in 1989, spent decades in prisons in the U.S., France, and Panama on drug, money‑laundering, and human‑rights‑related charges, and ultimately died in Panama in 2017 after brain surgery complications at age 83.

Who Noriega Was

  • Manuel Noriega was a Panamanian military officer who became the country’s de facto strongman in the 1980s, ruling through loyal “puppet” presidents rather than holding the presidential title himself.
  • He had long‑standing ties to U.S. intelligence (including work with the CIA) while simultaneously engaging in corruption and facilitating drug trafficking through Panama.

How He Fell From Power

  • By the late 1980s, Noriega’s relationship with Washington collapsed amid accusations he was taking bribes from drug cartels and obstructing U.S. anti‑narcotics efforts.
  • In December 1989, U.S. President George H. W. Bush ordered an invasion of Panama; U.S. forces toppled Noriega’s regime, and he surrendered in January 1990 after taking refuge in the Vatican embassy.

What Happened After His Capture

  • Noriega was flown to the United States, tried in a federal court in Miami, and convicted on multiple drug‑trafficking and related charges, serving about two decades in a U.S. prison.
  • After his U.S. sentence, he was extradited to France in 2010 for money‑laundering convictions, then sent back to Panama in 2011 to serve sentences for murder, corruption, and embezzlement tied to the military regime.

His Final Years and Death

  • In his later years in Panama, Noriega’s health declined, and he was granted periods of house arrest for medical reasons, including treatment for a benign brain tumor.
  • He underwent surgery for the tumor in 2017, suffered complications (including brain hemorrhages), and died in a Panama City hospital on May 29, 2017; the Panamanian president at the time said his passing “closed a chapter” in the country’s history.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.