Noriegas return would help seal the dark past Vice President

Panama’s Vice President Juan Carlos Varela, replied Monday, to  statements by relatives of a murdered Noriega victim, who want the former dictator sent to Italy.

The family of  Hugo Spadafora who was assassinated and beheaded under Manuel Antonio Noriega;s rule do not want him to return to Panama as they fear he will escape justice. As his father was Italian, they believe the case against Noriega should be heard in Italy, and an Italian Minister has said publicly that he would support the move.

Varela said it is difficult to put oneself in  the position of a person whose brother has been beheaded. “That was a violent crime and a very hard for the relatives of the disappeared Spadafora,” Varela said.

However: “His return would be another way of knowing the truth and help seal the dark past Noriega left us and eventually, the party that backed him  … the PRD (Democratic Revolutionary Party).