According to a report by CBS News on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, the reported capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has drawn historical comparisons, coming exactly 35 years after U.S. forces arrested former Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega, another Latin American leader once indicted by American courts and pursued by Washington.
President Donald Trump announced early Saturday that Maduro had been captured and removed from Venezuela, marking a striking coincidence in timing with the January 3, 1990 arrest of Noriega. Both cases involve leaders accused by the United States of narcotics trafficking and criminal conspiracy, and both unfolded against a backdrop of escalating U.S. military pressure in the region.
Manuel Noriega, a former military officer who ruled Panama throughout much of the 1980s, was initially a close ally of the United States and a long-time informant for the Central Intelligence Agency. However, relations deteriorated sharply as U.S. authorities accused him of facilitating drug trafficking operations linked to Colombian cartels and undermining democratic governance in Panama.
In December 1989, then-President George H.W. Bush ordered a full-scale U.S. military invasion of Panama in an operation aimed at restoring democracy and apprehending Noriega. As U.S. forces advanced, Noriega sought refuge in the Vatican’s diplomatic mission in Panama City, where he remained for several days under intense psychological pressure, including continuous loud music broadcast by U.S. troops.
On January 3, 1990, Noriega surrendered to U.S. authorities and was flown to the United States to face trial. He was later convicted on drug trafficking and racketeering charges and sentenced to 40 years in prison, though his term was later reduced. Noriega ultimately served about two decades in U.S. custody before being extradited to France to serve a sentence for money laundering. He was later returned to Panama, where he faced additional convictions related to murder and human rights abuses committed during his rule.
Noriega died in a Panamanian prison in 2017 following complications from surgery.
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