? Colonel Manuel Noriega has arrived back in Panama from Paris via Madrid. A shiny Airbus brought back the former military dictator and arguably the CIA’s most valued asset in Central America since Anastasio Somoza Debayle of Nicaragua was deposed in July of 1979.Ol’ Pineapple Face, as he was affectionately known by his subjects, arrived on a regularly scheduled Iberia flight from Madrid at Tocumen International Airport during the early evening hours of December 11, 2011, a few days short of the 22nd anniversary of the illegal invasion of Panama by U.S. Forces, which caused the deaths of about 4000 innocent Panamanian citizens as well as the destruction of thousands of dwellings, leaving tens of thousands homeless. It was a very Merry Christmas indeed from President Bush to the people of Panama.The former strongman was met by law enforcement authorities at the plane and immediately flown by helicopter to El Renacer Penitentiary. He is to be tried for the brutal murders of several political enemies, but due to his advanced age, he is likely, under Panamanian law, to serve out any sentence under house arrest until he will either be assassinated by accident to keep him from revealing the close ties he has with then CIA director George H. W. Bush, or he actually dies of natural causes.He was a valued asset to the CIA during the cold war period, when he worked very closely with the U.S. in their aggressive fight against communism in the region, something which probably would have never gained a foothold was it not for the arrogant imperialism that turned the countries of Central America into divisions of United Fruit. Things were going along quite well until the CIA discovered that they had competition in the Cocaine business with the Medellin cartel in the form of Pineapple Face.Now, 22 years later, at age 77, Noriega will finally be able to write his memoirs and let us all know who his paymaster was.Once again, it’s official. The Andean nation with the Coca Farmer President Evo Morales has taken the Blue Ribbon in cocaine production. Cesar Güedes, the chief of the UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) stated on Sunday, in an interview with La Paz’s daily paper Pagina Siete, that Bolivia is now the largest supplier of Bolivian Marching Powder (Formerly Peruvian Marching Powder) to the South American Market. Easy border crossings between Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay coupled with the massive sums of money involved in the trade of illegal drugs make it very simple to buy military, police, and border patrol officials where necessary, while there are literally thousands of miles of border within the ‘Snow White Triangle’ that are virtually unpatrollable due to its remoteness. President Evo Morales of course blames the neighboring country of Peru for the influx of all that blow to his country.The Man of the People seems to be removing himself further and further away from his roots, as his new-found wealth has helped him obtain a brand new state of the art presidential jet, a French Falcon 900EX. The last that was heard from Bolivia’s Minister of the Presidency, and I am not making this name up, Oscar Coca, they don’t have a qualified pilot as yet, because the insurance policy stipulates that it must be a pilot with at least 100 hours of type certified flight time. But he may have found one by now, as he was so overeager to attend Cristina Fernلndez de Kirchner’s second inauguration that he arrived hours early.The United States’ loss of prestige in Latin America is starting to show itself in many different ways. At one point not very long ago, trade between the nations of Ecuador and the United States was very brisk with not just bananas but also petroleum products flowing north at a rapid pace. But as the government of this Andean nation is becoming more and more squeezed for cash, since it adopted the U.S. dollar as its national currency, they asked for and received from the Chinese state-owned oil monopoly a US$1 billion advance against future sales of crude oil. The government of Ecuador has just pledged delivery of $538 million worth of crude to China for the year 2012. To sweeten the deal a little more, PetroEcuador has contracted to supply PetroChina with 71 million barrels of crude over a period of 2 ½ years, a deal worth $6.4 billion at current prices.Until recently, the United States took delivery of more than 75% of Ecuador’s production, but the combination of how the U.S. corporations dealt with the ecological crises they created in Ecuador’s Amazon region and the business as usual foreign policy, or lack thereof from Washington, has removed the valuable resources from the Americas and redirected them to China.I encourage you to write to me, jamie@expatdailynews.com with any questions or suggestions you may have, and if necessary, we can establish a voice communication via Skype. Disclaimer: I am not in any travel related business. My advice is based on my own experiences, and is free of charge. (Donations accepted). It is always my pleasure to act as a beneficial counselor to those who are seekers of the next adventure.Jamie Douglas is an Adventurer, Writer and Photographer with an amazing array of Nikon equipment, and a lifetime of experience traveling and documenting. To contact him for assignments, email: jamie.douglas [at] yahoo.com
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