Our Man in Panama: How General Noriega Used the United States- And Made Millions in Drugs and Arms

by John Dinges

An award-winning investigative journalist uncovers and dramatizes the secret history of Noriega's rise to power with the help of the United States. Photographs.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, Drugs, American History, The United States Of America, Latin American History

402 pages, Hardcover

First published February 24, 1990

About the author

I am a journalist who writes mostly about Latin America, dictators, intelligence agencies (usually secret ones) and human rights. I have a previous career as a theologian--not incompatible with journalism. I am the Godfrey Lowell Cabot professor of international journalism at Columbia University. Previously I worked for the Washington Post and NPR (as foreign editor and managing editor at the latter.) Current writing: democracy and media in Latin America.
I founded the nonprofit Center for Investigation and Information (CIINFO), which runs projects on investigative journalism in Latin America. Founded the Chilean on-line media organization CIPER (www.ciperchile.cl). Currently run ArchivosChile (www.archivoschile.org).

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book spanning the recent history of Panama from the 1968 rise of Omar Torrijos to the rise and fall of Manuel Noriega. It discusses the impact that Torrijos and Noriega had on geopolitics of the region. Noriega was not a nice guy. The book clearly shows him as an opportunistic military officer who rose to power in no small part due to his connection to the Columbian drug trade. In an era of Cold War Politics, Noriega was a useful tool of the United States, the Castro regime and the Medellin cartel. Once his usefulness was over the tool was replaced.

The book is very explicit in its documentation of Noriega's involvement with the drug trade from his early years in the military. It also implies that the US knew of and tacitly or overtly allowed ignored this in the waning years of the Cold War. I think there is more to be told. Despite this, I think the book is a good read for those interested in the recent history of Panama and the Central American-Caribbean Basin.

[John Vandike · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up at Half Price Books out of a sense of curiosity. I was only ten when the US invaded Panama, so I thought it would be an interesting walk down memory lane.

The author is an investigative journalist, as such the book weaves a bit between a biography of Noriega, a history of Panama and its politics, and an investigation into the drug wars in Central America. There were plenty of familiar names sprinkled throughout the book: Reagan, George HW Bush, Ollie North and Pablo Escobar as well as people who probably figured prominently in newspaper accounts at the time (Kalish) but have fallen out of general memory.

Though Noriega had quite the reputation for violence, drunkeness, and sexual escapades the author sticks to what is provable, generally avoiding lurid and unsubstantiated details. As a result, the books ends up a little on the dry side, but the writing flows easily.

Finally, this book is not half "Panama before Operation Just Cause" and half after the US intervention. In fact, the US invasion of Panama, Noriega's ten-day long asylum in the Papal Nuncio's residence, and his surrender all take place over a brisk three pages. The author's final chapter is an intriguing analysis of Noriega and his relationship with the United States. He (the author) posits that by-and-large the US was fairly content to 'look the other way' on Noriega's drug and arms dealing and his sometimes excessively cozy relationship with Fidel Castro so long as he did not make too many waves on the US's murky involvement in Nicaragua and the rather one-sided Panama Canal Treaty. But eventually, Noriega went just a little too far and the US decided it was time to tighten the leash on one of its Central American clients.

(An aside: as usual there are a few pictures tucked into the center of the book. One of them is a cartoon with George HW Bush conducting a meeting about "our crumbling infrastructure" and Noriega sticking his head around Bush's chair mocking the elder Bush that he (Noriega) is still in power. What I chuckled about was that this was published in 1990...30 years ago...and our infrastructure was crumbling even then.)

[Lance Karlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly detailed and well-researched investigation into Manuel Noriega's sordid affairs with the United States. He was a man who played the US, the Cubans and the Medellin Cartel at the same time, blackmailing and scheming his way to power. Yet it was the United States who ultimately created his success and funded him through the CIA.
This book became a significant contribution to my research for my novel, The Noriega Tapes. Thanks John for this work, for your feedback and support.

[Dan Doebler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good historical review of now unclassified information. Was old enough to remember this in the news, but not old enough to put it in historical context. Now with an appreciation for Central America - find the topic and the time super interesting.

The writing and pace were great. The characters and the story are compelling, and at times their history and politics are complex.

[anmrise · Rating 4 out of 5]

when Noriega said "yeah SURE no drugs in panama nope" and spent the rest of his weekend in DC living the high life on the US dime... 4d chess man

[Henry Hildebrandt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite in depth, picks up in second half

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably not the best choice for an audio book- so many details and very in depth research. Incredible history.

[Jonathan Franco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Esperaba un libro más interesante, cuenta algunas buenas historias sobre la época, pero no me pareció tan profundo respecto a Noriega.

[Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

from http://weeksnotice.blogspot.com/2013/...

I happened to pick up John Dinges' Our Man in Panama, a 1990 book about Manuel Noriega's rise to power. The invasion itself is mentioned only briefly at the end, which was fine with me. What's more interesting is how the situation developed.

It is a reminder of how weird that invasion was. The U.S. government was split any number of ways about Noriega and only toward the very end did anyone consider him an "enemy." Even then, many still didn't. For the most part, he was the friendly leader who helped the DEA (including, ironically, the arrest and extradition of someone who later testified against him) and helped the Contras. He was a team player. That he was corrupt was no big deal--everyone was corrupt. Omar Torrijos had established the system that Noriega inherited. Noriega's own addition was drug trafficking, which the U.S. had first officially noticed in the early 1970s.

Dinges goes through all the evidence with care, showing how deeply involved Noriega was in the drug trade and how brutal he could be. As he notes, and it's still true now, no one feels sorry for him as he had almost no redeeming qualities. But going straight to invasion essentially for personal reasons is still amazingly disproportionate. Using similar criteria elsewhere, we'd be involved in even more wars than we are now.