January 25, 2010 - By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS - WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday decided not to stop the U.S. government from sending former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega to France to face money laundering charges.

The high court refused to hear an appeal from Noriega, who wanted to be sent back to his native country after finishing his drug sentence in the United States.

Noriega is the only person currently being detained by the United States as a prisoner of war, government officials said. Noriega was ousted as Panama’s leader and brought to Miami to stand trial following a 1989 U.S. invasion that drove him from power. He was convicted of drug racketeering and related charges in 1992 and declared a prisoner of war by U.S. District Judge William Hoeveler.

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