The wife of ousted Panamanian leader Manuel Antonio Noriega calls him a model husband and loving father who is innocent of U.S. drug trafficking charges, a newspaper reports.
Felicidad Fiero Noriega said she would raise money for her husband's legal defense "cent by cent," according to the interview in Saturday's editions of El Diario-La Prensa, a Spanish-language daily newspaper in New York City.Mrs. Noriega has taken refuge in the Cuban Embassy in Panama City along with her three daughters and a 4-month-old granddaughter, the newspaper said.
She told the newspaper she did not trust the U.S. legal system and feared for "the destiny of my husband," who was brought to the state of Florida to face U.S. drug-trafficking charges.
The wife of the ousted military ruler made the comments in a telephone interview from Panama, a transcript of which was made available to and translated by The Associated Press.
"I hope that good will triumph over evil," Mrs. Noriega said, referring to her husband's fight against the drug-trafficking charges.
She said the new Panamanian government has not contacted her and has no knowledge of her situation. She said she plans to stay in Panama, where "everyone knows I have done social work for the needy." She said her husband also worked to help Panama's poor.
"If the TV cameras had been more objective they would have filmed the many toys and bags of food we kept in the garage that were going to the needy," she told the newspaper.
Of the voodoo altars and cocaine U.S. officials said were found by American troops in her husband's residence, Mrs. Noriega said, "It was all made up."
She said she kept in touch constantly with her husband after he took refuge in the Vatican Embassy on Christmas Eve. He surrendered Wednesday night and was flown to the United States.
"Everyone here knows Manuel Antonio to be a model husband who raised his children with love and respect," Mrs. Noriega said.
Asked if she knew about reports that a mistress had talked Noriega into giving himself up, Mrs. Noriega responded: "I was not aware of her, because he loves me so much."