President Donald Trump on Saturday (January 3) said that the United States forces had captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, and launched large-scale strikes on the country, including its military bases.The US has accused Maduro of drug trafficking and working with gangs designated as terrorist organisations. Note that in 2020, Maduro was indicted in the US on corruption, drug trafficking and other charges, with the State Department announcing a $50 million reward for information leading to his arrest or conviction.This is, however, not the first time that the US has gone into a Latin American country and captured its leader for drug trafficking. Nearly 36 years ago, the US invaded Panama, and arrested its ruler Manuel Noriega. The operation also involved a long playlist of heavy metal and rock songs.Friend turned foeNoriega came under the spotlight after he was appointed as the head of military intelligence under Omar Torrijos, who seized power in a 1968 coup. He was known to be street-smart and ruthless — Noriega oversaw the Army’s corrupt off-book deal and concocted the disappearance of numerous opponents of Torrijos.By 1970, Noriega was on the payroll of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). He helped the US curb the spread of communism in Central America by allowing US forces to set up listening posts in Panama, and use the country to funnel aid to pro-American militaries in the region.After the death of Torrijos in a 1981 air crash, Noriega became the de facto leader of Panama. As he continued to be an ally of Washington, Noriega got involved with Colombian drug lords such as Pablo Escobar, whom he helped smuggle cocaine into the US and launder drug money through Panama’s banks. In return, Noriega received millions of dollars as kickbacks.The US intelligence knew about Noriega’s role in drug trafficking and money laundering. However, they did not take action against him due to his significance in the fight against communism. For instance, in the mid-1980s, he was one of the key players in the Iran-Contra affair. This involved the smuggling of weapons and drugs to aid US undercover efforts to support the anti-government forces opposing the Marxist Sandinista government in Nicaragua.Story continues below this adTensions began to emerge between Noriega and the US soon after. The Americans became increasingly suspicious of him amid indications that he was selling his services to other intelligence bodies. This forced the US government to disown Noriega, and in 1988, he was indicted in a US federal court on drug-trafficking charges.Then, in 1989, Noriega annulled a presidential election, in which the opposition would have won comfortably. On December 15, Panama’s National Assembly named him “maximum leader” and declared the US and Panama in a “state of war”. After the resolution was passed, Noriega strode triumphantly to the podium, wielding a machete. He said: “We the Panamanian people will sit along the banks of the [Panama] canal to watch the dead bodies of our enemies pass by.”The next day, Panamanian forces shot and killed a US marine in Panama City and severely beat an American naval officer who witnessed the shooting.The invasionThese developments spooked then US President George H W Bush, who was briefly CIA director in the 1970s, when Noriega was considered a valuable intelligence asset.Story continues below this ad“Bush ordered Gen Colin Powell, then chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, to launch Operation Just Cause, sending 26,000 invasion troops into Panama in a rehearsal of the Powell “doctrine of overwhelming force” that was next employed two years later in the first Gulf war,” according to a report by The Guardian.Also in Explained | From bus driver to Chavez’s right hand and authoritarian dictator: Who is Nicolas Maduro?On December 20, 1989, US troops entered Panama, looking to capture Noriega. The Panamanian Defence Forces were crushed, and most of the country was held by the American forces within days. But there was no sign of Noriega. He was allowed to enter the Vatican Embassy after several days on the run.The US troops did not want to break diplomatic protocol and enter the embassy. So, they came up with a plan: to use the tactics of “psyops”, psychological warfare operations. The troops placed speakers as a “musical barrier” around the perimeter of the Vatican Embassy and turned them to full volume.While Noriega was known to like opera, he was made to listen to Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power”, “Panama,” from Van Halen, “Danger Zone,” from Kenny Loggins, and “Refugee,” courtesy of Tom Petty.Story continues below this adAfter the music was played nonstop for several days, Noriega finally surrendered on January 3, 1990. He was taken to Miami, tried and convicted of drug trafficking.“The court refused to allow Noriega’s defence to present any evidence relating to his work for the CIA, his payments from the US government, his knowledge of US subversion in Central America, his contacts with senior figures such as Bush, and their knowledge of his activities as Panama’s dictator,” The Guardian report said.He spent nearly two decades in US prisons. Noriega died in 2017, at the age of 83.