Clinton signs Noriega extradition order
BAKU. April 27. KAZINFORM Former Panamanian strongman Manuel Antonio Noriega is to be extradited to France after US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton signed an extradition order Monday, the State Department said.
The State Department would not provide any further details, but CBS News reported Noriega was likely already on his way to France, dpa reported.
Noriega has been jailed for 17 years in the United States on drug charges and was set for release in September.
Panama has also requested US authorities to return Noriega to his native country so he can face charges in the murders of political opponents during his 1983-1989 reign.
The US military invaded Panama in 1989 to arrest Noriega for smuggling drugs through his country into the United States. He was convicted three years later.
A French court tried Noriega in absentia in 1999 on money laundering charges and sentenced him to 10 years in prison, but French authorities have said Noriega would get a new trial if he's extradited, Kazinform refers to Trend News.
See www.en.trend.az