PANAMA CITY - Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega is in critical condition after undergoing two brain surgeries. Thays Noriega, one of his daughters, made the announcement Monday. Doctors have said it grew unexpectedly recently and threatened the life of the former dictator, who has also suffered from vascular ailments and uses a wheelchair. Noriega had been in prison for murdering opponents during his 1983-89 reign and for corruption, but authorities allowed the 83-year-old to switch to house arrest about a month ago so he could prepare for the procedure. He was then imprisoned in France for money laundering, before being returned in 2011 to Panama, where he had already been convicted in absentia. PANAMA CITY (AP) — Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega suffered a hemorrhage after surgery Tuesday to remove a benign brain tumor and was in critical condition, his daughters reported.Thays and Sandra Noriega said their 83-year-old father was returned to the operating room at the Santo Tomas public hospital in Panama City after doctors detected bleeding following the operation.
Listen and subscribe to get a weekly update with the newsmakers who matter. Daughters: Panama ex-dictator Noriega critical after surgery Earlier Tuesday, Noriega's daughters, Thays and Sandra Noriega, said their father was returned to the operating room after doctors detected bleeding following the first operation to remove the tumour. He was ousted by a U.S. invasion in 1989 and jailed for years in the United States on drug charges. Manuel Noriega, Panama's former ruler, has died aged 83, the country's President, Juan Carlos Varela, announced on Twitter. The wife and daughter of Panamanian strongman Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega quietly arrived in Santo Domingo, capital of the Dominican Republic, on Sunday and are in … Noriega, 83, underwent the first procedure Tuesday morning to remove a benign tumour from his brain. The tumour was detected in the months after Noriega returned to Panama in December 2011 and was imprisoned for corruption and the killings of political opponents during his reign in the 1980s. "His condition is critical after undergoing a (second) open brain surgery in less than eight hours." Last Updated Wednesday, March 8, 2017 12:28AM EST In this Nov. 8, 1989 file photo Panamanian military strongman Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega talks to reporters in Panama City. "He is sedated," the lawyer said. Thays and Sandra Noriega said their 83-year-old father was returned to the operating room at the Santo Tomas public hospital in Panama City after doctors detected bleeding following the operation. Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, who spied for the United States before his drug trafficking and brutality triggered a U.S. invasion to oust him in 1989, has died aged 83. He had been in intensive care.“His condition is grave and we are waiting for the second surgery to be concluded,” Thays Noriega told The Associated Press by phone.Calls to the hospital seeking comment rang unanswered.The tumor was detected in the months after Noriega returned to Panama in December 2011 and was imprisoned for corruption and the killings of political opponents in the 1980s.Doctors have said it grew unexpectedly recently and threatened the life of the former strongman, who has also suffered from vascular ailments and gets around in a wheelchair.Noriega was transferred to house arrest Jan. 29 to prepare for the procedure, which was originally scheduled for mid-February.Noriega, a former general, ruled Panama with an iron fist during his 1983-89 regime.
But after that surgery, doctors discovered a hemorrhage that forced them to go back in that afternoon, his daughters and lawyer said.
Angel said doctors had succeeded in stopping the bleeding during the second procedure and Noriega was returned to intensive care. PANAMA CITY (AP) — Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega suffered a hemorrhage after surgery Tuesday to remove a benign brain tumor and was in critical condition, his daughters reported. Mr. Noriega is survived by his wife and three daughters, Lorena, Sandra and Thays Noriega. Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega suffered a hemorrhage after surgery Tuesday to remove a benign brain tumour and was in critical condition, his daughters reported. Officials at the hospital did not comment or return calls.