But for the most part Noriega stayed mum about elite military and civilian associates who thrived on the corruption that he helped instill — and which still plagues the Central American nation of some 3.9 million people, a favored transshipment point for drugs and a haven for money laundering.
“He kept his mouth shut and died for the sins of others,” R.M. Koster, an American novelist and the biographer of Noriega, said in a 2014 interview. “Nobody else ever went to prison.”
Meanwhile, families of more than 100 who were killed or disappeared during his rule are still seeking justice.
