After spending 21 years in a federal prison in Miami, former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega boarded an Air France flight at Miami International Airport Monday afternoon, bound for France where he'll face trial on money laundering charges.
The brutal leader ousted by a U.S. invasion in 1989, was convicted in 1992 in Miami on multiple charges including cocaine trafficking.
His federal sentence ended two and a half years ago, but Noriega, believed to be in his 70s, remained in prison while fighting extradition to France, where he's wanted for laundering $3 million of drug money by purchasing luxury apartments in Paris.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signed the extradition orders Monday, despite his lawyer's request that Noriega be sent back to his native country. He's also wanted in Panama for the murder of a political rival.
Noriega was Panama's longtime intelligence chief before he took power in 1982. He had been considered a valued CIA asset for years, but during his corrupt rule, he joined forces with drug traffickers and was reportedly paid millions by a Colombian drug cartel to protect shipments.
The involvement in drug trafficking led to President George H.W. Bush's order to invade.
Noriega's lawyers said the U.S. is required under the Geneva Conventions to return the prisoner of war to Panama, but in January the Supreme Court declined to hear the case.
