On February 5, 1988, Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega was indicted on charges of drug smuggling and money laundering. The following year, he was extradited to the United States and later sentenced to 30 years in U.S. federal prison.



In 1999, the French government requested that Noriega be extradited to France, where he has been convicted of money laundering. In that same year, the government of Panama also requested extradition of Noriega, as a result of his 1995 conviction in abstentia on murder charges.