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| Panamanian President Martin Torrijos during a White House visit in February. Charles Dharapak/AP |
Noriega's future captivates Panama
The former Panamanian dictator's term ended Sunday. He faces extradition to France or being sent back to Panama.
from the September 12, 2007 edition
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Those who might be least enthusiastic about his return are officials in President Martin Torrijos's Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), to which Noriega used to belong.
Many in the party used to serve with Noriega – and they don't, experts say, want to be associated with the past.
"They feel that ... he is reviving the whole past," says Mario Rognoni, a former minister and friend of Noriega. "That would hurt their chances in the next election. That's why they don't want the name Noriega even mentioned before May of 2009."
Panamanian analyst Carlos Guevara-Mann argues that "Noriega still keeps a lot of secrets to himself, his blackmail potential is very strong, and the [PRD] fears he would use that blackmail potential against the government and the people who collaborated with him before."
Weak judiciary
But the debate over Noriega's future has revealed larger institutional problems, says Mr. Guevara-Mann, who teaches at the University of Nevada, Reno.
Among the issues at the top of the list is a dysfunctional judicial system, he says. In fact, those Panamanians who want Noriega to go to France feel that way for a simple reason, he says – it's the only way to get a fair trial.
"This has raised people's awareness about the failures of the Panamanian justice system," says Guevara-Mann. "Just a handful of collaborators of the military regime have been prosecuted. They want to ensure that Noriega receives punishment for all the terrible deeds he did."
That Noriega has been singled out as the sole perpetrator of the era is troubling to many – a fact that has been underlined by the end of his term in US prison.
Jose Antonio Aizpurua's apartment once overlooked the barracks in El Chorrillo that Noriega occupied when he was in power. Once a symbol of the iron grip he held on this nation, they have since been razed and replaced by a scrappy city park, where a group of boys kicks around a ball across a weed-filled basketball court.
Today Mr. Aizpurua has a view of the park, which he administrates. "If he has something to pay, he should come here and pay it," says Aizpurua, who supports Noriega and says insecurity has increased since he left. "He is painted as a monster, but he was not the only one."
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