Noriegas home comes tumbling down.

LESS THAN 24 hours after the Ministry of Health (MoH) asked for the demolition of houses belonging to former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, the wreckers moved in with backhoes, shovels and trucks.

The houses in upscale Altos del Golf were said to be breeding sites for the Aedes aegypti mosquito which transmits dengue and demolition began at 6 am on Thursday, January 9.

"It's a jungle in the middle of the city, therefore, we are demolishing it," said Jaime Cohen, an official with waste agency AAUD.
Cohen said that in addition to the breeding sites they found vermin such as rats."We are going to make this clean," He added that the property was also used by criminals.

"Residents have told us that they have monitored the place," he said.
MoH officials and the Institutional Protection Service were also on hand.
The demolition has been opposed by Noriega's family. Julio Berrío, a lawyer for Noriega, said the issue of the property has not yet been resolved says a La Prensa report