Pineapple Face is Dead

Manuel Noriega is dead. The main thing to know about him is that everything about him was sordid. And in the end, he had no friends or allies.

Randy Archibald has a good summary of his rise and fall, all of which is sordid. The United States government used him and overlooked his obvious cocaine ties (and personal proclivities) as long as he was useful. Once he was no longer useful, it was convenient for George H. W. Bush to get rid of him and look tough in the process. Stephen Kinzer, a journalist who has written a lot on Central America, tweeted the following this morning:

That about sums up the U.S. side. He was an asset until he wasn't. Then the U.S. got very high and mighty, conveniently pretending it hadn't been involved in propping him up in the first place.

Meanwhile, Yoani Sánchez tweeted this:

The Cubans had worked him too, but no one wants to claim him anymore. He's dead and no one will miss him.