Noriega Claims U.S. Deal Targeted Castro

Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega claims federal prosecutors offered him a lighter sentence if he implicated Fidel Castro in drug smuggling, a charge the prosecutors denied Thursday.

Noriega, who is serving a 40-year sentence for protecting U.S.-bound cocaine shipments through Panama, made the Castro claim in a prison interview that aired Wednesday on CBS’ Spanish-language network Telenoticias.

‘They would need testimony against Fidel,” Noriega said in the interview. Without offering any details of the government offer, he said, “In the legal field, it sounds like a cruel joke.”

Noriega’s claim was denounced by Myles Malman, a former assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted the Panamanian general.

“That’s ridiculous,” Malman said. “There were some plea negotiations early on in the case, and (Castro) was never mentioned at all. He never ever mentioned cooperation in any form, shape or fashion.”