U.S. Officials’ Secret Visit to Panama Told : State Department Offers Noriega Deal to Accept Asylum in Spain Without Worry of Extradition

Two senior State Department officials made a secret visit to Panama on Friday to offer military strongman Manuel A. Noriega a deal under which he would step down and accept political asylum in Spain in exchange for assurances that he would not be extradited to the United States, officials said.

The senior officials, Deputy Asst. Secretary of State William G. Walker and Deputy Legal Adviser Michael G. Kozak, have been working on an arrangement that would allow Noriega to leave Panama peacefully, ending nine months of increasing turmoil in the Central American country.

U.S. officials said that the Reagan Administration has agreed to a proposed deal in which Spain would accept Noriega under its law of political asylum. The Justice Department, in turn, would agree not to press for the Panamanian leader’s extradition to the United States to stand trial on drug trafficking and racketeering charges, they said.

Hopes He Will Accept

One official said that the Administration hopes Noriega will accept the terms and leave Panama “in two or three days.” But others warned that it is too early to tell whether the military chief is ready to step down.

In another Friday development, the Panamanian government decreed a “state of urgency,” a move that opens the way for drastic steps to ease the economic and political crisis that threatens Noriega’s rule. The decree, which makes possible the suspension of constitutional rights, says that “the government will adopt adequate measures to preserve public order, repel internal and external attacks on the national economy and confront the urgent state under which the country is living.” (Story on Page 20.)

In a television interview Friday, Assistant Secretary of State Elliot Abrams tacitly signaled the Administration’s acceptance of any deal for Noriega to take exile in Spain. “We have an extradition treaty with Spain, but I gather that it doesn’t apply to people who have been granted political asylum,” Abrams said.

The interview, on Cable News Network, was widely seen via satellite in Panama.

The government of Spain has said that it is willing to admit Noriega as long as he requests political asylum and the United States agrees not to seek his extradition.

Noriega was indicted by two federal grand juries in Florida on Feb. 5 on a list of charges centering on his alleged role in protecting cocaine trafficking and financing operations in Panama. The United States has not requested his extradition from Panama because a treaty between the two countries exempts citizens of one nation from being extradited to the other.

The Reagan Administration has been pressing Noriega, a virtual military dictator, to step down since last year. But the United States stepped up its pressure significantly after the federal indictments and escalated its efforts again after Noriega deposed civilian President Eric A. Delvalle on Feb. 25.

U.S. Monetary Embargo

The U.S. campaign against Noriega has included a monetary embargo to block the flow of dollars into Panama, an action that has crippled that nation’s economy because it uses U.S. currency.

Walker and Kozak, the two State Department aides, have been working for months on proposals to ease Noriega out of office. They collaborated earlier this year with Jose I. Blandon, a former Noriega aide who tried to persuade the general to step down from office peacefully.

Blandon, who testified to Congress about Noriega’s drug trafficking, is deeply involved in the U.S. effort to oust Noriega, officials said. He has told associates that he hopes to return to Panama soon to help lead the pro-military political party into a democratic election.

In Panama City, leaders of groups opposed to Noriega said they received word from the Vatican Embassy that Noriega was prepared to step down under certain conditions. Among the conditions are: the dropping of U.S. charges against him, amnesty in Panama for him so he could come and go as he pleased, amnesty for his close associates, and the power to choose his successor in a restructured armed forces.

In return, according to opposition officials, Noriega offered to fix a date on which he would step down and arrange a withdrawal of the military from politics.

Opposition officials said that they declined to negotiate with Noriega, insisting that he step down. They said that any negotiations would then take place with the future leadership of the Panama Defense Forces, which Noriega now heads.

“We do not deal with Noriega, because he is a liar and never keeps his word,” said Carlos Gonzalez de la Lastra, a leader of the Civic Crusade, a business and trade alliance that has spearheaded the opposition to Noriega in Panama.

ABC News reported Friday night that Noriega has already agreed to most of a package that will get him out of office, but the report could not be confirmed.

The network reported that the proposed deal would allow Noriega to retire as military commander in chief with full honors and to leave Panama several days or weeks later for either Spain or France. In addition, ABC said, Panamanian opposition leaders have agreed not to seek criminal charges against Noriega in Europe and not to seek the confiscation of any of his wealth.

Support Seen Reduced

The visit of the State Department aides coincided with reports that Noriega’s support in the Panama Defense Forces is dwindling in the wake of a failed coup this week.

Gen. Frederick F. Woerner Jr., commander of all U.S. military forces in Latin America, said the coup attempt showed that “solidarity of the Panamanian Defense Forces had been ruptured.”

But Woerner said he is skeptical about reports that Noriega will leave office soon. “Putting a time line on Gen. Noriega is probably one of the greatest hazards of our profession,” he told reporters at Palmerola Air Base in Honduras.

Noriega turned back an attempt by rebellious officers under his command to oust him from power Wednesday. Five officers have been placed under arrest and another five forced to step down. Diplomats say that some other rivals of Noriega are in hiding.

Military experts sifted through reports of how the coup plan faltered. Coup leader Col. Leonidas Macias, with the backing of riot troops, tried to persuade a security unit called the Urraca battalion to join with him in taking Noriega’s headquarters, one source said.

Did Not Know Password

At one point, the source said, Macias called for troops to obtain weapons from an armory in Panama City. However, the troops were unable to gain access to the facility because they did not know a secret password.

The incident may explain why Macias had no support on the streets outside headquarters to back up his coup attempt.

“It did not seem to be well planned or planned very long before it happened,” said a foreign military observer.

Noriega has dismissed the heads of the police and his military intelligence department. On Friday, he named Col. Guillermo Wong, previously the No. 2 officer in intelligence, to head that important department of his general staff.

He had previously named Lt. Col. Eros Ramiro Cal as police chief to replace Macias. Macias is reportedly under arrest.

2 Pilots Defect

Meanwhile, two Panamanian military pilots who worked for Noriega have defected to the United States, the Associated Press reported.

The pilots told officials that Cuba has provided Noriega with up to 16 tons of military equipment since the crisis in that country erupted three weeks ago, an Administration official was quoted as saying.

Doyle McManus reported from Washington and Dan Williams from Panama City. Staff writer Ronald J. Ostrow contributed to this story in Washington.