Manuel Noriega (1938– ) rose to military power in Panama when he participated in the coup that installed Omar Torrijos as the country’s leader. As Panama’s chief of military intelligence, Noriega worked with the American government and the CIA during the Nixon administration, though he was known in his own country for brutality and corruption. Noriega became Panama’s dictator upon the death of Torrijos in 1983. By 1989, the United States could no longer ignore Noriega’s actions, which included violation of the Panama Canal Treaty and...