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Coup Leader Was Betrayed, Widow Says

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From Associated Press

The widow of the Panamanian major who led an unsuccessful coup against Gen. Manuel A. Noriega says it failed because her husband was betrayed by another major who switched sides at the last minute, according to a published report.

Adela Bonilla de Giroldi said in a New York Times interview that her husband, Maj. Moises Giroldi Vega, had worked with Maj. Fiqui Olechaea, commander of the elite Battalion 2000, in planning the coup. But instead of helping oust Noriega, Olechaea used his battalion to crush the coup.

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