Panama's consul in France, Aristides Isaac Gómez, has been muzzled when it comes to talking about former Pamanian dictator Manuel Antonio Noriega.
He refused on Saturday (May 1) to provide details about the condition of Noriega who has who is currently in La Santé prison in France. It has been rumored that Noriega, 76, is in ill health, disoriented and suffering from deep depression.
All inquiries must now be channeled through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
La Prensa said yesterday that the newspaper had learned that, after the consul’s statements to Panamanian media, the Foreign Ministry had sent a "strong" letter to Gómez, which prohibited him from giving details of the status of Noriega in Paris.
Noriega was extradited on Monday last week (April 26) by the United States to France, where he could serve time for the laundering of drug money. He had been convicted in absentia in 1999 to 10 years in prison.
He will appear before a judge on May 12 to decide his fate.
While Panama has asked for his extradition to face murder charges here, many regard the request as a formality, and believe he is not wanted back in his home country where he has already been sentenced to 25 years in jail for two murders and faces a trial in July for a third. Panama has no extradition treaty with France.