The World - News from April 19, 1988

Panamanian strongman Manuel A. Noriega reportedly signed an agreement in February to leave power voluntarily, but the deal fell through when President Eric A. Delvalle tried to fire him. In an interview, former Venezuelan President Carlos Andres Perez said he negotiated the deal, along with former presidents Alfonso Lopez Michelsen of Colombia and Daniel Oduber Quiros of Costa Rica. The U.S. government and Spain supported the negotiations, according to Perez. He said the deal was signed Feb. 24, one day before Delvalle announced he was firing him. Instead, Noriega engineered Delvalle’s removal from the presidency. Perez was Venezuela’s president from 1974 to 1979. Meanwhile, most Panama banks resumed limited operations for the first time in six weeks, but depositors were still unable to withdraw cash.