Noriega visits hospital for medical check up

Panama’s former dictator Manuel Antonio Noriega is not dying or in critical condition  says  the head of the penitentiary system.

Noriega was taken from his Renacer  prison cell to Santo Tomas Hospital in Panama City on Wednesday January 21. Angel Calderon, CEO of the National Penitentiary System described it as a routine medical visit  at which Noriega had   X-ray examinations and tests  of lower limb mobility. He left  the prison at 8 am and was back three hours later.

A few weeks ago, a team doctor diagnosed heart problems and a brain tumor that can cause paralysis, epilepsy and convulsions, and even sudden death. Family members wanted him to remain in hospital.

The former strong man, indicted for multiple murders returned to Panama December 11 last year. after serving 21 years in prison in the U.S. and France on charges of drug trafficking and money laundering.