Noriega family wants him in hospital or home
The former Panama dictator, Manuel Antonio Noriega is still in Santo. Tomas Hospital where he arrived ten days ago with bronchitis.
His family is waiting for a response from the authorities to a request that he be permanently moved to a hospital given his advanced age and health status. Noriega, 78, was evaluated Friday by Prison Health officials in Santo Tomas, who concluded that he is progressing "well and is stable," but must remain "two or three days" in the health center, says a spokesman for the Ministry of Government and Justice.
The same source said the former dictator will undergo treatment to help complete his recovery. The Institute of Forensic Medicine of the Attorney General also made ??a medical check on Noriega, and both assessments are taken into account in responding to the request of lawyers and relatives of Noriega to be granted a permanent "hospital stay " or house arrest, the spokesman added.
Thays Noriega, the former dictator's daughter, said told the news agency Efe that her father will remain "at least the whole weekend" in the hospital, and reiterated that they had been waiting "three months" for a response of the authorities in order to benefit him with arrest in the hospital . This is the third time in five months that the fromer dictator, still facing trial on murder charges, was transferred from El Renacer prison on the outskirts of Panama City to the hospital.