Freedom for Carapina...will it actually happen, will he get run over by a bus, or what????

[MADem]

You can be sure Poppy Bush doesn't want the guy to walk free, and maybe start writing a book...hmmmmmmmmm? How nice that the French now have a leader who's a bit more right-leaning--it might make it easier for BushCo to get them to hop seriously on the "Shut Carapina Up" bandwagon, if the Panamanians fall down on the job for some reason....

http://www.miamiherald.com/457/story/164524.html

Noriega's supporters rallied by his possible return to Panama

Noriega, 70, is set to be paroled Sept. 9 after serving nearly 18 years of his sentence. He qualified for early release because he was automatically eligible for parole and he earned time for good behavior.

What happens afterward is unclear. The Panamanian and French governments each want him to serve prison sentences for other crimes....Noriega has quietly served his sentence in an apartmentlike cell at the low-security Federal Correctional Institution in southwest Miami-Dade, equipped with exercise machines, a telephone and a color TV set. His lawyer, Frank Rubino, says Noriega wants to return to a life of quiet retirement in Panama.

That may not happen.

U.S. officials say the French government plans to file an extradition request so he can serve a sentence there for allegedly moving Colombian drug money through Panama to banks in France.

Panama wants Noriega to serve multiple prison terms for, among other things, the murders of critic Hugo Spadafora and 10 leaders of a failed 1989 coup against Noriega. Opinion polls here suggest that more than 60 percent of Panamanians want Noriega to do jail time in Panama....

[bling bling]

1. But then why would he be released so early for good behavior?

Seems like the Bush's, if motivated enough, could keep him quiet and in jail. I don't know much about that topic, but after reading the article it sounded to me like he might be better off staying IN prison over here.

[MADem]

2. Mandatory Federal Sentencing Guidelines, perhaps?

Maybe a warden who won't play ball, or too many people who'd rat them out if they tried to get all heavy handed on the guy?

Perhaps they're hoping either the Panamanians or the French will keep him on ice for them?

I think the US wants him gone, so he can be forgotten...but they don't want him wandering about freely or giving interviews or, horror of horror...writing books!