Drug Trial May Reveal Strategy in Noriega Case

The trial of Gen. Manuel A. Noriega is still four months away, but the name of the deposed Panamanian ruler is expected to be invoked often beginning Tuesday when two co-defendants enter federal court here to face drug smuggling charges.

Brian Davidow and William Saldarriaga are accused of smuggling 732 pounds of cocaine into the United States in 1985 or 1986 aboard a Panamanian vessel called the Krill. According to U.S. government prosecutors, Davidow and Saldarriaga met with Noriega in Panama City to plot a trip in which the Krill took arms to Colombia and left with cocaine bound for the United States.

A chief witness against the two defendants is expected to be Amet Paredes, 29, the son of a prominent Panamanian military commander who was a Noriega rival in the early 1980s. Paredes on Thursday pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy in connection with the Krill incident. In a plea agreement with the government, Paredes faces a 10-year prison term in exchange for his testimony.

In U.S. District Court on Thursday, a government prosecutor said that Noriega had ordered the murder of two drug traffickers who he believed had stolen cocaine during a deal with the Medellin cartel. One of those men was Ruben Paredes, Amet Paredes’ brother, whose body was found outside Medellin.

Richard A. Sharpstein, Davidow’s attorney, described Amet Paredes as “a political kamikaze sent here to take a dive for the family in order to get retribution against Noriega,” both for the murder of his brother and the ouster of his father, Ruben Dario Paredes, from command of the Panamanian Defense Forces. In May, 1988, Amet Paredes signed a statement in which he swore he knew nothing about the Krill.

Davidow, the only American charged in the Noriega case, was a businessman “who had legitimate dealings with some of these people but who got caught up with scurrilous individuals,” according to Sharpstein.

Amet Paredes is the third Noriega co-defendant to plead guilty to reduced charges in exchange for agreeing to testify for the government. Also expected to take the stand against Noriega, whose trial is to begin June 24, are Eduardo Pardo, a Panamanian pilot, and Lt. Col. Luis del Cid, a former Noriega military aide.

Although the charges against Davidow and Saldarriaga concern only one incident of drug smuggling, the trial is expected to reveal some of the government’s strategy against Noriega, who faces an 11-count indictment that alleges a broad history of aiding the Medellin cartel in drug trafficking and money laundering.

“I think what you’ll get is a peek through the back door of a conspiratorial case, a quarter peep show rather than a Cecil B. De Mille production,” Sharpstein said.

Davidow, charged with conspiracy, intent to distribute narcotics and racketeering, faces a maximum sentence of 50 years in prison and a fine of at least $50,000 if he is convicted. Saldarriaga, who is charged with conspiracy and intent to distribute narcotics, could receive a similar fine and a prison term of up to 30 years if he is found guilty.