Grandson Pleads Panama's Manuel Noriega's
Case
By Rich Phillips
MIAMI, Florida (CNN) - Growing up,
Jean-Manuel Beauchamp attended no ball games
with his grandfather. No barbecues, either,
or bedtime stories.
Beauchamp, now 20, was 4 months old when the
United States invaded Panama and seized his
grandfather. Noriega was later convicted on
drug charges and sentenced to 30 years in
prison, reduced to 17 for good behavior.
Now, three years after the end of his prison
term, Beauchamp's grandad -- former
Panamanian military dictator Manuel Noriega
-- remains behind bars pending Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton's decision whether to
sign extradition documents.
That outcome will likely come sooner rather
than later. The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday
turned down Noriega's request for a new
hearing, setting the stage for his
extradition to France, where he has been
convicted in abstentia on money laundering
charges and faces a new trial.
"It's all up to Hillary now," Beauchamp
said. "There's not much hope in the courts
any longer."
President Obama has a role to play as well,
Beauchamp said, but he held out little hope
that the president would intercede.
"I don't think he's being informed about
this case, and it's still being ignored,
just like the Bush administration did," he
said.
"I'm trying not to let this affect me. I
just got off the phone with my grandfather.
He was adamant about making this injustice
known," he said.
Noriega's Miami attorneys plan to send
Clinton a letter Friday asking that the
former Panamanian strongman be returned to
his home country of Panama. Noriega's trial
judge declared him a prisoner of war after
his drug and money laundering conviction in
1992. Because of that status, he and his
attorneys believe he should have been
returned to Panama -- where he would face
murder charges -- when his sentence ended in
2007.
But the federal courts have ruled against
him, and he has remained in prison south of
Miami.
"He was adamant about staying in Miami this
whole time," said Beauchamp. "His attitude
now is 'whatever happens happens.' "
Noriega is charged in France with depositing
drug money in French banks and using drug
money to buy apartments in Paris. He faces
up to 10 years in prison there, but his
attorneys believe France would not honor his
status as a prisoner of war. He faces 20
years on murder and human rights abuse
charges in Panama, but Panamanian law would
allow him to serve his sentence under house
arrest because of his age.
The United States holds his fate and must
decide whether to honor France's extradition
request or send Noriega home.
"They must also consider the seriousness of
the charges," said Jon May, Noriega's
appellate attorney.
"Noriega is wanted for murder in Panama.
We're not asking for sympathy from Secretary
Clinton, but to recognize there are larger
issues," he said.
Further, he said, "Panama made the request
first, and he is a citizen of Panama, not
France."
Beauchamp also believes that Panama's case
should come first, but he is willing to go
with his grandfather wherever he's sent.
"I told him I will follow him to be with him
there, in France, but he said, no, I should
stay and work on my studies," said
Beauchamp.
Beauchamp is a film student in New York. He
says that he doesn't know anything about his
grandfather's past or the drug charges that
put him in prison.
He was far too young to hear the stories
about how Manuel Noriega was once on the
CIA's payroll.
"When I was a kid, I didn't grow up knowing
he was in prison. I thought he was in
school," said Beauchamp.
The two have spent quite a bit of time
talking both in person and on the phone.
Beauchamp said they talk about the present,
not the past, and his famous grandfather has
motivated him, helping him learn from his
own experiences.
"I've spent quality time with him, but not
private time," he said, alluding to prison
security and the monitoring of
conversations.
"He's the smartest man I know. He's so
friendly, outgoing, knowledgable. He's
always looking to teach or give advice," he
said.
The U.S. government has portrayed Noriega as
the ultimate crooked cop -- a man who was
paid millions by the Medellin drug cartel to
protect cocaine and money shipments.
Panamanians remember him as a cruel
dictator.
But the former Panamanian leader has said
his relationship with the United States
soured when he refused to help the United
States take part in acts of sabotage against
the communist Nicaraguan government during
the Cold War-era, anti-communist efforts
spearheaded by the CIA in Central America
during the 1980s.
Noriega said that when he refused to help
the United States, his country was invaded.
Noriega was arrested and taken to Miami to
stand trial on the drug charges.
During the invasion, 23 U.S. troops were
killed, as were about 200 Panamanian
citizens.
Beauchamp said he wants to learn more about
his homeland of Panama. He grew up in Miami,
but his sense is that Panama never really
wanted his grandfather back there to stand
trial and is still reeling from the 1989
U.S. invasion.
"Panama needs closure, and I feel Panama has
not wanted him back. Panama is still
suffering from post-traumatic stress
disorder," he said.
In the meantime, Beauchamp said that his
grandfather reads and prays a lot and still
has a soldier's mentality.
"He's ready for anything. He's probably
developed strategies, in his own mind, to
emotionally prepare. He's been packed for 2˝
years waiting," he said.
"The U.S. should be escorting him back to
Panama, from where they took him." |
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