Maduro and Noriega: Legal parallels between narcotics prosecutions of two leaders of Latin American countries

The 1991 federal drug, money laundering and racketeering trial against former Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega has parallels with the case against deposed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and may carry some clues about Maduro's fate.

Noriega, the leader of the Central American country’s military, held power for about six years in the mid-1980s.

He was indicted in a Miami federal court of taking money from drug traffickers in exchange for offering haven and turning the country into a hub for cocaine distribution.

President George H.W. Bush sent the U.S. military to pressure the military strongman and then attempted to arrest him before he fled to the Embassy of the Holy See, the Vatican’s consulate.

For days troops blasted heavy metal music from large loudspeakers mounted on armored vehicle aimed at the building to smoke out Noriega until he finally surrendered.

His lawyers argued that Noriega, who was never the president of the country, could not be tried in a foreign court under a legal concept called head of state immunity.

Maduro was also taken in a limited military action against a foreign country while he was the president of Venezuela. His election has not been recognized by more than 50 countries, including the United States.

Like the Panamanian leader, Maduro has been accused of using his position corruptly to further a criminal enterprise that enriched him with money from drug cartels and sent narcotics to the United States.

On Monday, Maduro’s lawyer, Barry Pollack, questioned the legality of the military operation that captured his client and indicated sovereign immunity may be part of his defense strategy against the narco-terrorism, drug and weapons charges that Maduro faces.

"Mr. Maduro is the head of a sovereign state," the attorney told the court. "He's entitled to the privileges and immunity that go with that office. In addition, there are issues with the legalities of this military abduction."

Dick Gregorie, the federal prosecutor who obtained the indictment of Noriega and also looked into corruption by the Venezuelan leader, told the Associated Press that the defense attorney’s tactics have little chance of succeeding.

"There's no claim to sovereign immunity if we don't recognize him as head of state," he told the wire service. "Several U.S. administrations, both Republican and Democrat, have called his election fraudulent and withheld U.S. recognition. Sadly, for Maduro, it means he's stuck with it."

The Miami court rejected Noriega’s immunity argument in the 1991 trial because the United States did not recognize him as the head of state, according to court records.

Noriega died behind bars after spending nearly 30 years in prison.