Judge rejects Noriega's extradition appeal again

MIAMI (MCT) — A Miami federal judge on Friday ruled, for the second time, that former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega could be extradited to France to face money laundering charges.

U.S. District Judge William Hoeveler rejected claims by Noriega's attorneys that France would not provide the same benefits Noriega has received in the United States as a prisoner of war. Hoeveler, who presided over Noriega's 1992 drug trafficking trial in Miami, also said he did not have authority to decide a challenge to the extradition, which was approved by a federal magistrate last month.

Noriega's attorneys immediately filed notice that they would appeal to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta. It was unclear Friday afternoon what that would mean for Noriega's scheduled release from prison. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Noriega will be transferred to the custody of U.S. marshals when he completes his sentence on Sunday, but the U.S. Marshals Service requested he remain at the Miami-Dade federal prison where he has been for 18 years.

The State Department has to finalize extradition orders before Noriega, 73, is sent to France.