Editing Manuel Noriega (section)

===Drug and weapons operations===
Panama's and Noriega's involvement in drug-trafficking grew considerably over the early 1980s, peaking in 1984.{{sfn|Scranton|1991|pp=13-15}} Intensifying conflicts in [[Colombian conflict|Colombia]], [[Salvadoran Civil War|El Salvador]], [[Guatemalan Civil War|Guatemala]], and [[Nicaraguan Revolution#Contra War|Nicaragua]] had led to the creation of covert transportation networks that Noriega used to transport drugs to the U.S., particularly [[cocaine]].{{sfn|Dinges|1990|pp=125–127}}{{sfn|Scranton|1991|pp=13-15}} During this period, Colombia's [[Medellín Cartel]] was also seeking allies. Noriega became intimately involved with their drug trafficking and money-laundering operations, and received considerable sums as protection money, bribes, or shares of profits.{{sfn|Scranton|1991|pp=13-15}} In June 1986, investigative journalist [[Seymour Hersh]] recorded a U.S. [[White House]] official as saying that reducing Noriega's activities could greatly reduce international drug trafficking.<ref name="Hersh 1986">{{cite news|last1=Hersh|first1=Seymour|title=Panama Strongman Said to Trade in Drugs, Arms, and Illegal Money|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/06/12/world/panama-strongman-said-to-trade-in-drugs-arms-and-illicit-money.html?pagewanted=all&mcubz=0|access-date=June 6, 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=June 12, 1986}}</ref>

Hersh reported unnamed U.S. officials as saying that Noriega had amassed a personal fortune in European banks as a result of his illegal activities, as well as owning two homes in Panama and one in France.<ref name="Hersh 1986"/> The wealth generated for the Panamanian military from drug-smuggling also helped stabilize the authoritarian government that it dominated. However, the military's control over wealth from illicit trade alienated the Panamanian business elite that had previously also benefited from such trade. Under Noriega, these profits were shared within the military less evenly than under Torrijos, eventually creating friction in the military leadership.{{sfn|Ropp|1992|pp=215-217}}

Many of the operations Noriega benefited from were run by associates such as [[Floyd Carlton]] and [[Cesar Rodríguez]]. Large sums from drug revenues were brought in from Miami and elsewhere to Panama for laundering, and Noriega received protection payments in these instances as well.{{sfn|Dinges|1990|p=150}} American [[Steven Kalish]] also began a large scale business selling drugs, laundering money and selling hardware to the Panamanian military for considerable profits with Noriega's assistance.{{sfn|Dinges|1990|pp=169–171}} Dinges writes that at the time of the 1984 election, Kalish was preparing to ship a load of [[Cannabis (drug)|marijuana]] worth U.S. $1.4 million through Panama, for which Noriega had agreed to provide false Panamanian customs stamps; Noriega was to be paid $1 million for this exercise.{{sfn|Dinges|1990|pp=174–175}}

Beginning in 1984, Noriega appeared to reduce the scale of his operations, and even ordered a raid against a cocaine factory in the interior of Panama, a raid which he then emphasized as evidence of his cooperation with the U.S. in their fight against drugs.{{sfn|Dinges|1990|pp=181–185}} He also ordered a crackdown on money laundering by Colombian cartel figures [[Jorge Luis Ochoa Vásquez|Jorge Ochoa]] and [[Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela]].{{sfn|Dinges|1990|pp=202–204}} Noriega's new image as an opponent of drug trafficking was symbolized by his being invited as a speaker in 1985 to [[Harvard University]], for a conference on the role of the military in Central America's wars, a speech which received a lot of attention in Panama's pro-government press.{{sfn|Dinges|1990|p=200–202}} In 1986, a convoluted operation involving the [[East German]] [[Stasi]] and the Danish ship ''Pia Vesta'' ultimately aimed to sell Soviet arms and military vehicles to South Africa's [[Armscor (South Africa)|Armscor]], with the Soviets using various intermediaries to distance themselves from the deal. Noriega was apparently one of these intermediaries but backed out on the deal as the ship and weapons were seized at a Panamanian port.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Plaut|first=Martin|title=The Chinese and Soviets had a bigger role in supporting apartheid than we previously knew|url=https://qz.com/africa/1449906/china-soviets-backed-both-south-africa-apartheid-and-liberation/|access-date=November 6, 2021|website=Quartz|date=November 3, 2018 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Guerrero|first=Alina|date=June 18, 1986|title=Danish Ship Caught Carrying Soviet-Made Weapons|work=[[Associated Press News]]|url=https://apnews.com/article/c13b61653d7e8d3204fbea0ce6308da1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Van Vuuren|first=Hennie|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HgyXDwAAQBAJ|title=Apartheid guns and money : a tale of profit|date=2018|isbn=978-1-78738-247-3|location=London|pages=260–265|oclc=1100767741}}</ref>