Panama No Place To Run

With Noriega cornered but not caught, was the pain of invasion worth the gain?

Care for a used dictator, courtesy of the Vatican? Not if he is Manuel Antonio Noriega, replied leaders of Spain, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and perhaps other nations last week. None wanted any part of the busted Panamanian strongman, accused drug dealer and alleged black-magic practitioner. Only Cuba showed even a grudging interest in enabling Noriega to leave the Vatican embassy in Panama City, where he had taken refuge from invading U.S. troops on Christmas Eve. "We wouldn't do it for Noriega the man," said a Cuban diplomat. "This would be our way of standing up for nonintervention and, frankly, sticking...

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