Manuel Noriega, Former Panamanian Dictator, 83

Panamanian military strongman Gen. Manuel Noriega raises his fists to acknowledge the crowd cheers during a Dignity Battalion rally in1988 in Panama City. Photo: John Hopper / Associated Press

PANAMA CITY — A source close to the family of Manuel Noriega says the former Panamanian dictator has died at age 83.

The source was not authorized to be quoted by name.

Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela wrote in his Twitter account that “the death of Manuel A. Noriega closes a chapter in our history.”

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The onetime U.S. ally was ousted as Panama’s dictator by an American invasion in 1989.

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Noriega later served a 17-year drug sentence in the United States.

Story: Juan Zamorano