A US judge has approved the extradition of former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega to France.
Noriega (72) was sentenced in absentia to 10 years in prison by a Paris court in 1999 on charges of laundering millions of French francs generated by the drugs trade through banks CIC, BNP, Credit Lyonnais and Banco do Brasil.
Luxury apartments owned by Noriega and his family in Paris were also seized.
The former Panamanian leader appeared before a US magistrate on France's extradition request today after a separate US judge on Friday denied him a speedy return home when he is released from prison in Florida on September 9th.
He served 17 years for drug trafficking and racketeering.
