Noriega’s Lawyers Met With Castro
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MIAMI — Attorneys for Panamanian strongman Manuel A. Noriega met in March with Cuban President Fidel Castro, who provided documents that will help defend Noriega against drug smuggling charges, a defense attorney said Friday.
Steve Kollin, a Miami attorney who represents Noriega, confirmed a Friday report in the Miami Herald that defense attorneys had met with Castro in Havana.
“Fidel Castro met with some of Gen. Noriega’s lawyers and discussed certain sensitive issues with us,” Kollin said. “He further provided us with certain documentation. The nature of that documentation cannot be revealed . . . .”
A judge has ordered prosecutors and defense attorneys to treat as classified any documents obtained from foreign sources.
Prosecutors have claimed that Castro mediated a dispute between Noriega and leaders of the Medellin cocaine cartel over the destruction of a cocaine lab in Panama.
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