RT by @mikenov: RT by @mikenov: How did #CIA create a cocaine dictator in #Panama During the Cold War, the CIA cultivated Manuel Noriega as a valuable intelligence asset in Panama, paying him millions of dollars for information on communist activities in Central America whilst turning a blind eye to his growing involvement in cocaine trafficking. As Noriega consolidated power and became Panama’s de facto military dictator in the 1980s, his drug empire flourished with implicit American protection, making him one of the most powerful narco-traffickers in the hemisphere. However, when Noriega became too independent and his criminal activities too embarrassing to ignore, the US turned on its for

How did  #CIA create a cocaine dictator in  #Panama

During the Cold War, the CIA cultivated Manuel Noriega as a valuable intelligence asset in Panama, paying him millions of dollars for information on communist activities in Central America whilst turning a blind eye to his growing involvement in cocaine trafficking.

As Noriega consolidated power and became Panama’s de facto military dictator in the 1980s, his drug empire flourished with implicit American protection, making him one of the most powerful narco-traffickers in the hemisphere.

However, when Noriega became too independent and his criminal activities too embarrassing to ignore, the US turned on its former ally, invading Panama in 1989 and capturing him to face drug trafficking charges in American courts.

Though Noriega died in 2017 from complications following brain surgery in Panama—not directly killed by the CIA—his rise and fall exemplified the blowback from America’s Cold War policy of supporting unsavoury dictators for short-term strategic gains.
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— @XNew_s Jun 5, 2026