George H.W. Bush and Manuel Noriega enjoy happier times in 1983

Noriega's Break

Eventually Noriega refused to participate in further anti-Sandinista actions. In 1987, a Miami grand jury indicted him for drug-trafficking and the CIA tried to destabilize his regime. Noriega warned Bush that he had information which could change the course of the 1988 U.S. elections and the CIA backed off, but when Noriega "annulled" Panama's 1989 elections, citing CIA interference, Bush renewed attempts to unseat his one-time ally.
Critics called Bush's failure to support an abortive 1989 coup "indecisive," but his response to that criticism, the December 1989 invasion of Panama, led to world condemnation. Noriega eventually surrendered to face U.S. drug charges, but under the guise of apprehending one drug dealer, the invasion led to over 1,000 Panamanian deaths and installed a regime with similar close links to drugs, plus a willingness to alter Panama Canal treaties to suit U.S. interests.