---
aliases:
- Manuel Noriega
- Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno
- El Man
born: 1934-02-11
category: Intelligence & Government
created: 2026-05-17
died: 2017-05-29
location: Panama City, Panama
summary: Military dictator of Panama who simultaneously served as a CIA asset and
  facilitated Colombian drug trafficking, was ousted by U.S. invasion in 1989, and
  had his 40-year sentence reduced to 10 years after former CIA officials testified
  on his behalf.
tags:
- Person
- Politician
- Military
- Panama
- 1980s
- DrugTrafficking
- DarkAllianceInvestigation
title: Manuel Noriega
updated: 2026-05-17
---

Manuel Noriega was the military dictator of [Panama](/places/panama/) who performed valuable work for the [U.S. government](/organizations/us-government/) in [Central America](/places/central-america/) during the 1980s while simultaneously facilitating Colombian [cocaine](/concepts/cocaine/) trafficking.[^1]

### CIA Asset

Noriega brokered deals with South American leaders, acted as liaison to Cuba's Fidel Castro, and provided intelligence on guerrilla and terrorist activities. He was a longtime CIA asset who received payments from the agency.[^2]

### Contra Connections

[Sebastian "Guachan" Gonzalez](/people/sebastian-gonzalez/), a CIA asset and close friend of [Norwin Meneses](/people/norwin-meneses/) who was heavily involved in drug trafficking in Panama and [Costa Rica](/places/costa-rica/), was close to Noriega. Gonzalez was suspected of involvement in the beheading of Contra supporter [Hugo Spadafora](/people/hugo-spadafora/) shortly before Spadafora was to make information about Noriega's drug involvement public. [Rafael Cornejo](/people/rafael-cornejo/) was arrested, tortured, and jailed by Noriega's men in 1977 while smuggling cocaine through Panama for Meneses.[^3]

### Arrest and Conviction

Noriega was ousted by the U.S. invasion of Panama in December 1989 and brought to the [United States](/places/united-states/) in chains. He was convicted of drug trafficking and money laundering and sentenced to forty years in prison. In December 1998, Donald Winters, the former chief of CIA operations in Panama, testified on Noriega's behalf, describing his valuable service to the U.S. government. Former U.S. Ambassador Arthur Davis testified that Noriega did "a lot of good work." In March 1999, Noriega's sentence was slashed from forty years to ten, making him eligible for parole.[^1]

[^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Epilogue: "The damage that has been done"
[^2]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Cast of Characters
[^3]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 5: "God, Fatherland and Freedom"