The World : Panama Dissident Cites Arrest, Beating

A Panamanian dissident said he was forced to board a plane to Miami after being arrested and beaten. Ivan Romero, secretary general of the Christian Democratic Party, was detained in Panama after visiting the United States, said Perry Rivkind, local director of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. “They apparently interpreted something he said in New York as unflattering to Gen. (Manuel A. ) Noriega,” Rivkind said. Noriega, Panama’s strongman, is under indictment for drug trafficking, and the United States has called for his ouster. Romero told reporters in Miami that he was beaten at a military barracks during interrogation about his political activities. Meanwhile, in an interview in Panama, Noriega urged the United States to “leave us alone. Let them not interfere with our tamborito (folk dance) and we will not interfere with their political rock ‘n’ roll.”