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Noriega asks for Panama’s forgiveness in jailhouse interview

FILE - In this Dec. 11, 2011, file photo, Panama's ex-dictator Manuel Noriega gestures while being carried in a wheelchair by a police officer inside El Renacer prison in the outskirts of Panama City. Speaking to local television network the former Panamanian strongman broke his long silence in a interview from jail, aired on Wednesday, June 24, 2015, asking his compatriots to forgive actions by the military that culminated in the 1989 American invasion. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix, File) FILE - In this Dec. 11, 2011, file photo, Panama's ex-dictator Manuel Noriega gestures while being carried in a wheelchair by a police officer inside El Renacer prison in the outskirts of Panama City. Speaking to local television network the former Panamanian strongman broke his long silence in a interview from jail, aired on Wednesday, June 24, 2015, asking his compatriots to forgive actions by the military that culminated in the 1989 American invasion. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix, File)

By Associated Press June 24, 2015 1 min read

PANAMA CITY (AP) – Former dictator Manuel Noriega broke a long silence and asked his compatriots to forgive actions by Panama’s military during his regime that culminated in the 1989 U.S. invasion.

Speaking to local network Telemetro from prison, Noriega said his apology came after days of reflection with his family and religious mentors.

The onetime CIA informant hadn’t spoken to a journalist since a 1996 interview with CNN’s Larry King from a Miami federal prison, where he was sent for drug trafficking after being captured by U.S. troops.

After completing his sentence in the U.S., Noriega was extradited to France to serve additional time for money laundering. He returned to Panama in 2011 to complete a sentence for the murder of a prominent opponent during the military’s 21-year rule.