(prensa.com
) President of the Republic, Ricardo Martinelli, said in Switzerland on Wednesday that former Panamanian dictator, Manuel Antonio Noriega, “is going to pay” the time for acts committed in Panama.
The president was emphatic in saying that Noriega “will soon be extradited to Panama,” where “he has convictions to pay.”
Martinelli, who traveled on Monday to Davos, Switzerland, to attend the World Economic Forum, made the remarks in an interview with AFP, during which he also noted that Panama “has twice requested the extradition of Noriega.”
“It seems that there is an agreement between France and the United States (U.S.) and France must consult with the U.S. State Department”, which in turn, must give its approval, said the head of state.
In June 2010, Panama requested the extradition of the former dictator to France, where he was sentenced to seven years in prison for laundering.
As Panama has no bilateral extradition treaty with France, the request by Panama would be viable “by way of reciprocity” and the “endorsement” of the U.S. government, a country where Noriega spent 20 years in prison before arriving in Paris, explained Panamanian Foreign Minister, Juan Carlos Varela.