The World - News from Dec. 28, 1987

Panama freed six associates of Col. Roberto Diaz Herrera, the former army second-in-command whose accusations against the nation’s strongman, Gen. Manuel A. Noriega, touched off mass protests last summer, a lawyer for the men’s families said. The attorney, who requested anonymity, said the six were released late Saturday, two days after Diaz Herrera was allowed to leave for Venezuela. He said four of the six had been bodyguards for Diaz Herrera, one was his nephew and another was a house guest July 27, when Diaz Herrera’s home was stormed by the authorities. Diaz Herrera was convicted of crimes against the state and sentenced to five years in prison, then freed.