PANAMA â?? Nearly 22 years ago an American military plane whisked the de facto leader of this nation, Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega, off to Florida to face trial, and ultimately a prison sentence, for drug trafficking.
On Sunday evening, a commercial airliner landed here with much less fanfare, carrying him back. After flying more than 15 hours from Paris, where he had served additional time for money laundering, Mr. Noriega arrived at El Renacer Prison, a former American facility, to complete a 20-year sentence for three convictions stemming from several deaths and await possible further judgment in Panamaâ??s courts.
As the plane descended, a doctor checked Mr. Noriega, 77, who appeared to react to seeing the capital city from the air for the first time in years, a correspondent on the plane said.
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