serve in the medium security Miami Correctional Center rather
than in a maximum security penitentiary.2 Noriega is currently
pursuing appeals through the federal court system which may or
may not be eventually be heard by the Supreme Court.
Noriega's defense before and during the trial was primarily
concerned with raising issues of American criminal procedure
and refuting the evidence presented by the government against
Noriega. The trial was described in the press as "a three ring
legal circus"3 These included various assertions that Noriega's
rights to a fair trial had been abridged. The federal trial
judge did his best to ensure that Noriega's procedural rights
were safeguarded despite many problems. CNN gained access
to and aired tapes of conversations between Noriega and his
attorneys which the judge ruled did not prejudice Noriega's
rights. The government entered into an unusual number of plea
bargains and reportedly paid over one and a half million dollars
to protect various unsavory witnesses for the prosecution.
Ever present was the possibility that revelations at trial would
be embarrassing to President Bush or his administration. The
judge ruled that the defense could not bring in various
classified documents. Some of them would probably have shown that
Bush knew about Noriega's drug running as early as 1976.4
In the end, a great deal of evidence was presented which proved that Noriega had been involved in the trafficking of cocaine to
the United States and had received huge payoffs to ensure its
Noriega's counsel was accustomed to defending drug dealers
and users in the Florida courts. According to international law
professor Alfred Rubin, neither he nor the prosecution team were
well versed in the international legal issues involved.6
Nevertheless, those issues were raised. The judge ruled that
Noriega's...