U.S. Is Exploring Ways to Ease Noriega Out; Deal to Drop Charges Seen Possible

The Reagan Administration is exploring ways to ease Panamanian strongman Manuel A. Noriega out of power, including a deal under which the general’s federal drug indictments would be dropped if he agrees to step down, officials said Friday.

State Department spokesman Charles Redman said he could not rule out a bargain in which the United States might abandon the prosecution of Noriega, who was indicted by two federal grand juries this month on racketeering charges, if the general retires and allows civilian leaders to have effective control of Panama’s government.

But several other officials said that kind of deal is unlikely because of strong opposition from the Justice Department--and because it could touch off an embarrassing political storm over the propriety of letting a major accused drug trafficker off the hook for foreign policy reasons.

Might Go Into Exile

More likely, officials said, is some kind of arrangement under which Noriega might go into exile in a country where he would be safe from arrest.

“We’re not going to dismiss the indictments unless the President orders it,” Justice Department spokesman John K. Russell said.

“We’d never get away with it in a political sense,” a State Department official said. “Can you imagine what the Democratic (presidential) candidates would say?”

Assistant Secretary of State Elliott Abrams discussed a possible deal for Noriega in a meeting in Miami this week with Panamanian President Eric A. Delvalle, Redman said. Delvalle, who was on a private visit to Florida, had asked Abrams to sound out the Justice Department on whether it was legally possible to drop the indictments against the general.

Justice Department Opposition

The assistant attorney general in charge of criminal matters, William F. Weld, told Abrams that it is possible to halt a prosecution after indictments but added that the Justice Department would strenuously oppose such a move, officials said.

Abrams relayed that message to Delvalle on Wednesday, they said. According to some officials, however, Abrams added that the State Department and the Pentagon are still willing to talk about a deal--if Noriega came up with an offer.

Abrams and his aides then sounded out key members of Congress on whether they would accept a bargain and got “mixed results,” congressional sources said.

State Department spokesman Redman emphasized that the Administration has offered no concrete deal to Noriega and has not yet decided whether it wants one.

‘Made No Deal’

Abrams “made no deal, offered no deal and was not in a position to offer a deal,” he said.

Redman said the indictments against Noriega are “obviously based on strong evidence, and we have every intention of carrying through with them.”

The indictments accused Noriega of providing protection, money-laundering facilities and other government services to international drug smugglers who shipped cocaine and marijuana to the United States through Panama.

State and Defense department officials--including some who supported the decision to indict Noriega--have concluded that prosecuting the general has put U.S. policy in a ticklish spot.

The Administration has called on Noriega to leave politics and allow an elected civilian government to take over--but the indictments have had the effect of driving the general and his closest military associates together in mutual defense of their positions, with no simple exit.

Accused U.S. of Plot

Noriega, who has been under pressure from a growing civilian opposition movement since last year, has attacked the indictments as politically motivated and accused the United States of plotting to hold onto its role in the operation of the Panama Canal. The canal is scheduled to come under sole Panamanian control and defense on Dec. 31, 1999.

Because a 1904 U.S.-Panamanian treaty does not require either country to extradite its own citizens and because more flexibility is needed in negotiating with Noriega, the United States has not requested his extradition from Panama, officials said.

The Abrams-Delvalle conversation was first reported by Newsday on Thursday.

A Panamanian source who has supported Noriega said it has become apparent that the general must leave power, but he said it remains unclear how this can be achieved.

“Noriega will go when Washington applies enough pressure, but the problem will then be what to replace him with,” he said. “The majors and captains don’t have any money and can’t leave, so unless there is a political solution they will almost certainly organize a military coup.”

“The United States has the ultimate control in Panama whenever it wants to use it,” he asserted. “The indictment actually was counterproductive because it created sympathy for Noriega.”

Asked where the military chief would probably go when he retires, the Panamanian replied: “He likes France.”

Staff writers Ronald J. Ostrow and Don Shannon contributed to this story.