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7 notable US-backed regime changes since WWII

By Michael Gryboski, Editor

5. Manuel Noriega (Panama) — 1990

General Manuel Antonio Noriega speaks 20 May 1988 in Panama City during the presentation of colors to the San Miguel Arcangel de San Miguelito volunteer battalion. Noriega said that discussions with the U.S. could not continue as long as the U.S. continued its aggression and that Panamanian democracy will not follow a North American schedule.
General Manuel Antonio Noriega speaks 20 May 1988 in Panama City during the presentation of colors to the San Miguel Arcangel de San Miguelito volunteer battalion. Noriega said that discussions with the U.S. could not continue as long as the U.S. continued its aggression and that Panamanian democracy will not follow a North American schedule. | ANGEL MURILLO/AFP via Getty Images

General Manuel Antonio Noriega took control of Panama in the 1980s, following the death of military dictator Omar Torrijos, who was killed in a plane crash in 1981.

A former intelligence officer and CIA asset, Noriega was known for profiting from the drug trade, rigging elections and selling U.S. secrets to Communist Cuba.

Extensive protests in Panama in 1987 led Noriega to crack down heavily on free speech and political dissent. By 1989, Noriega had declared his country to be at war with the U.S.

In response, President George H.W. Bush authorized Operation Just Cause, with 13,000 U.S. troops occupying Panama City and toppling Noriega’s government.  

On Jan. 3, 1990, exactly 36 years before Nicolas Maduro would be captured by U.S. forces and sent to New York, Noriega surrendered to American forces to face drug trafficking charges. He was convicted of drug trafficking, money laundering and racketeering in 1992. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison.

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