Birthday: February 11, 1934 (Aquarius)
Born In: Panama City
Manuel Noriega
(Former Panamanian Dictator)
Manuel Noriega was a Panamanian military officer and politician who ruled Panama as a military dictator from 1983 until 1989, when he was ousted from power following the U.S. invasion of Panama. He had worked closely with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for more than three decades before the invasion and was considered one of the CIA’s most valuable intelligence sources throughout Central and South America. In fact, he was one of the main channels for supplying and distributing illicit weapons, military equipment, and cash to U.S.-backed counterinsurgency forces in the region. He was also involved in cocaine trafficking, and while U.S. intelligence agencies were aware of this, they allowed it to continue due to his usefulness in their covert military operations in Latin America. In the early 1980s, he unified the Panamanian armed forces and named it the Panamanian Defense Forces. He promoted himself to the rank of general and assumed the position of Panama’s de facto leader. He also canceled Panama’s presidential elections and attempted to control the nation through a puppet government. The United States invaded Panama after a failed military coup against Noriega, and he eventually surrendered in January 1990.
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