From Noriega to Maduro: How a 1989 US action is shaping today’s Venezuela operation debate

The 1989 US seizure of Panama’s strongman Manuel Noriega has re-entered global discourse, as analysts search for historical parallels to Washington’s dramatic operation in Venezuela that led to the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. 

President Donald Trump announced early today morning that US forces had captured Maduro and his wife, a declaration laden with historical symbolism. The operation came exactly 36 years to the day after American troops arrested another indicted Latin American leader who had once served US interests — Manuel Noriega. The coincidence has sharpened debates over US interventionism, regime change, and Washington’s long record of alliances with authoritarian figures in the Western Hemisphere. 

From slums to strongman: Noriega’s rise 

Manuel Noriega’s ascent to power was shaped by Panama’s turbulent political history. Raised in the slums of Panama City, he rose through the military under General Omar Torrijos, who seized power in a 1968 coup. After Torrijos was killed in a plane crash in 1983, Noriega consolidated control over the Panamanian government, emerging as the country’s de facto ruler through much of the 1980s.

During his rise, Noriega was not an adversary of Washington but an asset. A one-time US ally and CIA informant, he spent years on the agency’s payroll, receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars to assist American efforts against drug trafficking. Former US officials later testified that Noriega’s cooperation was critical to advancing US foreign policy interests across Latin America. He also acted as a liaison to Cuba’s Fidel Castro during a period of intense Cold War maneuvering.  

Fall from favour & 1989 US invasion 

The relationship deteriorated in the late 1980s as Noriega increasingly asserted independence from Washington. At the same time, allegations mounted that he was accepting bribes to allow cocaine shipments to flow into the United States. Indicted on drug trafficking charges, the former ally rapidly became a strategic liability. 

In late 1989, then-President George HW Bush ordered a full-scale US military invasion of Panama. About 24,000 American troops were deployed to topple Noriega’s regime. The operation resulted in the deaths of 23 US soldiers and left hundreds more injured, while causing widespread destruction in Panama City. 

Noriega initially evaded capture by seeking refuge in the Vatican embassy before surrendering to US authorities on January 3, 1990. He was flown to the United States to stand trial, marking the end of Panama’s military dictatorship and one of the clearest examples of Washington using military force to remove and prosecute a foreign leader. 

Prison and a closing chapter 

Noriega’s downfall was followed by a prolonged legal saga. Convicted on drug trafficking charges in the US, he spent 20 years in an American prison. In 2010, he was extradited to France to serve a seven-year sentence for money laundering, before being sent back to Panama in 2011 to complete a 60-year sentence for murder, corruption, and embezzlement committed during the military’s three-decade rule. 

In 2015, Noriega gave his first interview in nearly two decades from a Panamanian prison, describing himself as “the last general of the military era.” He apologized to those “offended, affected, injured or humiliated” by his actions and those of his subordinates during the dictatorship. 

Noriega died in 2017 at the age of 83 after complications from surgery to remove a benign brain tumor. Then-President Juan Carlos Varela said his death “closes a chapter in our history.”