Word: noriega
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...Despite Noriega's violent tactics, the opposition was willing to meet with the Panamanian leader. There were hints that Noriega might also be amenable to talks. One of the general's supporters, former Commerce Minister Mario Rognoni, suggested that possible intermediaries for such an undertaking might be Costa Rican President Oscar Arias Sanchez, a Mexican official or a papal envoy. But precisely what would be negotiated at such a session remained unclear. Noriega may plan eventually to schedule another presidential election and find another loyalist to serve as his stand-in. Endara and his allies, for their part, are adamant...
...Other Noriega confidants speculated that the general might be willing to step down -- provided Washington drops its drug indictments against him. That is a condition that Reagan accepted a year ago but that Bush has rejected. Noriega may attempt to reopen negotiations with the U.S. on that matter, if only to buy time. Unless a solution can be found quickly, Bush, like Reagan, could find himself sinking ever deeper into a frustrating brawl with a dictator whom few care for but no one knows...
...Panama's streets last week, Central America bureau chief John Moody had a powerful sense of deja vu. He had spent ten weeks in Panama last year reporting on the riots that accompanied the Reagan Administration's efforts to bring down the country's dictator, General Manuel Antonio Noriega. On both occasions, Moody felt a shiver of physical danger. Last year Moody was chased by several of Noriega's riot police, called the Dobermans. "When they finally cornered me, I figured my time had come," he recalls. "I was more than a bit surprised when the head man pulled...
...Tabulation sheets vanished, vote counting was suspiciously slow, and when citizens stormed the streets in protest, soldiers fired on the crowds with rifles. Through it all, the U.S. remained silent. Five months later, as protesters chanted, "Fraud! Fraud!," Panama inaugurated Nicolas Ardito Barletta, the candidate favored by Manuel Antonio Noriega -- and the man, many Panamanians charged, handpicked by then U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz...
...Bush Administration might also do well to downplay the "Noriega must go" mantra. A kidnaping would be imprudent, and the U.S. lacks the means to get rid of Noriega unless it plans to mount an invasion, a move that would prove far too costly. If Washington's Latin allies perceive even a hint of Yanqui aggression in the region, they might rally around Noriega, as happened when the U.S. imposed economic sanctions 14 months ago. Moreover, by one U.S. / military analyst's estimate last year, an invasion, while feasible, could result in the loss...