THE QUEST FOR NORIEGA : Noriega Co-Defendants in Miami Court : War on drugs: Panamanians’ lawyer calls extradition a violation of canal agreement.

Two co-defendants of Gen. Manuel A. Noriega appeared in court Tuesday to answer drug charges, but both of their attorneys challenged the federal government’s right to extradite them from Panama.

Daniel Miranda, 36, gave only his name and age through an interpreter to a federal magistrate. His attorney, Michael O’Kane, then said he would remain mute throughout the proceeding.

“This is a violation of the Panama Canal Treaty,” the seasoned criminal attorney said. “It says that if there are any criminal acts, the defendant would be turned over to Panamanian authorities and not surrendered to the United States.”

In another courtroom, Lt. Col. Luis del Cid, a man prosecutors have referred to as Noriega’s “right-hand man,” had his pretrial detention hearing continued until Jan. 16 so his attorneys could bring in witnesses from Panama.

Miranda was escorted by U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents to Miami on New Year’s Day after being arrested in Panama. On Tuesday, he wore a headset and occasionally nodded his head as he listened to the hearing in Spanish.

He is accused of flying an airplane from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to Panama with $800,000 of drug money on board. If convicted, Miranda faces up to five years in prison and $10,000 in fines.

In contrast, Noriega would face up to 145 years in prison and more than $1 million in fines if brought to Miami and convicted on all drug trafficking charges.

U.S. Magistrate Peter Palermo entered a plea of not guilty for Miranda and ordered him held until a pretrial detention hearing Friday after U.S. Atty. Dexter Lehtinen personally requested that Miranda be held without bond.

Miranda’s attorney objected in vain to the government’s request.

“There is no reason for that,” O’Kane said. “There are many people accused of crimes ten times worse and they get bond.”

Outside the court, O’Kane said the government violated a U.S. law that forbids the military from making arrests in foreign countries for criminal violations and that Miranda should not have been turned over to the DEA.

Meanwhile, Del Cid’s attorneys, prominent criminal lawyer Samuel Burstyn and assistant federal public defender Kenneth Swartz, said they needed more time to bring members of the defendant’s family and Panamanian military figures to the hearing.

“We want to put on witnesses who would contradict what the government has proffered,” Burstyn told U.S. District Judge William Hoeveler.

The attorneys also objected to the way Del Cid was brought to the United States.

Del Cid, 46, was arrested by DEA agents on Christmas Day in Panama after surrendering to U.S. forces. The indictment said he acted as a liaison and money courier between drug traffickers and Noriega.