March 8 (UPI) — Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Antonio Noriega underwent a second surgery and is in a medically induced coma after hemorrhaging following a brain tumor operation, his lawyer said.
Noriega, 83, had the first surgery at the Santo Tomas hospital in Panama City on Tuesday. Doctors successfully stopped the brain hemorrhage that followed, but Noriega’s condition is still considered critical.
“He is in intensive care following a second open cranial surgery in less than eight hours,” lawyer Ezra Ángel told local reporters. “The situation is delicate. He is in critical condition and we hope he recovers in the coming hours.”
In January, Panama’s 2nd Criminal Court of the Supreme Court authorized house arrest for Noriega so he could undergo brain surgery to remove the benign tumor.
Noriega has been imprisoned since December 2011 on a 60-year sentence on an array of charges including murder, corruption and environmental crimes. He previously spent 21 years in French and U.S. prisons for drug trafficking and money laundering.
The former leader, who ruled from 1983 until 1989, was originally going to have the surgery in July but it was postponed because his poor health.
Noriega has had multiple strokes, which have caused urological and neurological issues. He undergoes medical examinations every two months.
