WORLD REACTION TO NORIEGA’S ARREST : Soviet Union

The arrest and trial of ousted Panamanian dictator Manuel A. Noriega by the United States is illegal, Foreign Ministry spokesman Gennady I. Gerasimov said in Moscow. “No state has the right to take the law into its own hands,” he said. “That’s basically lynch law.” He said the trial violates the rights of Panama and the U.N. principle of nonintervention. “We think that Gen. Noriega used to be a CIA agent,” Gerasimov said. “And as your President Roosevelt said about (the late Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio) Somoza, he’s an SOB, but he’s our SOB. So, this particular SOB was your SOB and then he went astray, and now you want to capture him.”

Latin America

News of Noriega’s capture was splashed across the front pages of most Latin American dailies. However, it was received in silence by most national leaders there, who are leery of supporting what one official called Washington’s role as a “regional policeman.”

Venezuelan President Carlos Andres Perez said: “It’s such a delicate and serious subject that I would prefer not to comment on it until I’ve thought it through and met with my advisers.”

Peru expressed “satisfaction over the surrender of Gen. Noriega to United States justice.” However, like most Latin American nations, it refuses to recognize the U.S.-installed Panamanian government.

The Mexico City daily La Jornada editorialized: “The fate of Noriega has nothing to do with the existence in the country of the canal, of a puppet regime imposed by U.S. tanks. . . . Who’s next? What country in the region will be the next victim of the United States army?”

In Nicaragua, President Daniel Ortega said the United States should immediately withdraw its troops. “Noriega is already in the power of the Yankees,” he said on government radio. “So, there isn’t a single reason for the Yankees to remain in Panama, not one more moment.” Leftist Nicaragua opposed the U.S. invasion.

Europe

In Britain, the Foreign Office said: “We are glad that this problem between the U.S. and the Vatican has been resolved. Noriega faces criminal charges and we are naturally pleased that he should be brought to justice.” Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher fully backed the U.S. invasion.

In Spain, Foreign Affairs Minister Francisco Fernandez Ordonez said Noriega’s surrender “appears to be a voluntary decision by Noriega, and that’s how I suppose the Vatican will underscore it. . . . We want Panama to recover its moral conscience, which has been left enormously perturbed as a result of all these events.” Spain opposed the U.S. invasion.

Asia

Japan’s Foreign Ministry said the matter is strictly among the United States, Panama and the Vatican. Japan has not recognized Panama’s new government but has “an impression” that it is “a remarkable improvement.”

In Thailand, a spokesman said: “As drug trafficking affects countries internationally, we are happy that the accused will be tried fairly in a U.S. court. . . . I think this will lead to more permanent peace in Panama.”