The World - News from April 28, 1989

Charles Lane, a reporter for Newsweek magazine, was detained for questioning by Panamanian military intelligence officers but was released without charges after six hours. Lane, in Panama to cover upcoming elections, said officers of the G-2 military intelligence unit of the Panama Defense Forces questioned him about a dollar bill he had used for a purchase. He said the officers accused him of defacing the bill by writing insults on it against Gen. Manuel A. Noriega, the country’s military leader. The officers also questioned him about contacts he had with opposition leaders, Lane said. “I have never written on any bills. I told them that. And so far, I have only interviewed (government) candidates,” Lane told a group of reporters after his release.