Noriega’s Lawyers Seek Dismissal of U.S. Drug-Trafficking Charges

Lawyers for Gen. Manuel A. Noriega filed a sealed motion Thursday to dismiss drug charges against the Panamanian strongman, but they denied prosecutors’ suggestions that Noriega is seeking to “cut himself a deal” in a U.S. presidential election year.

“I am not engaging in any kind of political chicanery,” said Noriega’s American lawyer, Neal Sonnett. “We have important legal issues. Those are the only things we’re arguing. There is no political purpose to this motion at all.”

Noriega was indicted by two federal grand juries in Florida on Feb. 4 on drug-trafficking charges.

He originally had only until May to file a motion to dismiss the charges, but U.S. District Judge William Hoeveler twice agreed to extend the deadline, most recently in July, and sealed the motion when it was filed.

Prosecutors in July asked that Sonnett’s motion to dismiss charges be filed immediately to avoid the possibility that Noriega was delaying to make “wild allegations” during the height of the U.S. presidential race, U.S. Attorney Dexter Lehtinen said.

But Sonnett, who refused to detail the contents of the 65-page motion, said the extensions were for legitimate reasons. “I simply needed more time to prepare the motion,” he said.

Prosecutor Richard Gregorie said Wednesday: “My concern is that Noriega would see this as an opportunity to put materials in there that could have some bearing on our elections and might use that as some sort of blackmail to cut himself a deal with the (U.S.) government.”

Efforts by U.S. officials to negotiate a deal for Noriega’s ouster in return for dropping the charges have been unsuccessful.