France gets US green light to send Noriega to Panama

It took most of Sunday June19, for Panama’s  Ministry of Foreign Affairs to give an official response to a story in a local newspaper, that  the arrival of the former dictator Manuel  Antonio Noriega, was imminent.

When the muted Ministry announcement finally came late in the afternoon itmerely repeated the mantra used for months — Panama’s authorities  are "waiting for the Government of the French Republic to officially communicate their decision regarding requests for extradition made". against the former dictator.

The Ministry reiterated that Panama retains a strong interest inthe extradition of Noriega "in order to enable him to discharge the judgments of the Panamanian judicial authorities."
The statement came after La Prensa  said the U.S. government gave a green light to to  France to extradite Noriega to Panama.
The U.S. Embassy in Panama, sent a diplomatic note  to the Foreign Ministry on Thursday, saying its government had given consent.

But  says La Prensa the U.S. announced its decision to France on May 24
On June 8, President, Ricardo Martinelli, said that Noriega, currently in jail in France, would be  extradited soon to serve outstanding penalties
"I think Noriega will come soon … I do not know on or anything … I understand that he is coming soon and will serve his sentence here in Panama," he reiterated Martinelli.
Noriega will also face trial on murder charges. He  served 17 years ina U.S. prison  after being captured in the 1989 invasion of Panama, and was sentenced to 7 years in a French jail for money laundering. His sentence expires in 2013.