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| Noriega fails to stop extradition | Noriega fails to stop extradition |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| A US judge has refused to block the extradition of ex-Panama leader Manuel Noriega to France, where he faces 10 years in prison for money laundering. | |
| A federal judge rejected arguments by Noriega's lawyers that his status as a US prisoner of war negated the request. | A federal judge rejected arguments by Noriega's lawyers that his status as a US prisoner of war negated the request. |
| Noriega, 72, is due to complete a 1992 prison term on drugs-trafficking and racketeering in Miami in September. | |
| He was made a US prisoner of war after his arrest during the US invasion of Panama more than 17 years ago. | He was made a US prisoner of war after his arrest during the US invasion of Panama more than 17 years ago. |
| In a 12-page decision, judge William Hoeveler said Noriega's status was not meant "to shield him from all future prosecutions for serious crimes he is alleged to have committed". | |
| Noriega is to gain early release from a Florida prison for good behaviour in September, but a fight has begun over where he will be heading next. | |
| The French authorities want his extradition so that he can serve out a sentence on a 1999 money-laundering conviction obtained in absentia. | |
| But Panama's President Martin Torrijos said he would like the former military leader returned to Panama to serve a sentence for the murder of a government opponent. | |
| Stalwart supporter | |
| Manuel Noriega was once one of Washington's top allies in Latin America, with close ties to former Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush Senior. | |
| The Panamanian military ruler was seen as a stalwart supporter in the fight against Communism and drugs-trafficking in the region. | |
| However, in 1988 a Florida court charged Noriega with helping Colombian drugs-traffickers smuggle tons of cocaine into the US. | |
| The White House then added to that accusations of election-rigging and violating human rights. | |
| That led to a US military incursion in 1989 in which hundreds of Panamanian civilians were killed, with some estimates saying as many as 4,000 died. |