Panama's ex-dictator Noriega hospitalised

Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega has been hospitalised for what officials have described as "hypertension with a possibility of a stroke".

The 77-year-old Noriega, who is incarcerated for crimes committed while in office, was taken from his prison cell to the Hospital Santo Tomas, police said in a statement.

The ex-military ruler, who spent more than two decades behind bars in the United States and France, arrived back in Panama on December 11, 2011.

A military dictator from 1983 to 1989, Noriega faces three separate sentences after being convicted in absentia for crimes committed in Panama, including the murder of critics.

He also faces a series of other complaints for human rights abuses.

Noriega spent 20 years in a Miami prison on drug charges after his overthrow, and was then extradited to France, where he was sentenced to six years in prison for laundering money for the Medellin drug cartel. He spent nearly two years behind bars before he was extradited.

A truth commission in Panama found 110 cases of murders and forced disappearances of Noriega opponents during his dictatorship.

The return of Noriega, who was on the CIA's payroll from 1968 to 1986 before he became an enemy of Washington, has sparked speculation at the possibility that he could reveal secrets about political figures and wealth amassed under his regime.

Noriega's rule came to an end when then US president George H.W. Bush ordered US troops to invade Panama on December 20, 1989, claiming it was necessary to safeguard US citizens, secure the US-built canal, battle drug trafficking and defend democracy.

Noriega is serving three 20-year jail terms for the abduction and murder of three opponents: Hugo Spadafora, a doctor and former deputy health minister, in 1985; Captain Moises Giroldi in 1989; and union activist Heliodoro Portugal in 1970.

There was speculation he may leave prison, as Panama allows convicts 70 years and older to serve their time at home.

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