Panama's ex-dictator Noriega apologises to victims

Jailed Panamanian ex-dictator Manuel Noriega has apologized to victims of his 1983-1989 regime, which a truth commission found abducted and murdered opponents before his ouster in a US invasion.

"I apologize to anyone who feels offended, affected, harmed or humiliated by my actions or those of my superiors in carrying out orders or those of my subordinates during the time of my civilian and military government," he said in a statement read out Wednesday on national television.

Noriega, 80, is currently serving three 20-year prison sentences for the disappearances of two opponents in the 1980s and a bloody crackdown on soldiers who staged a failed uprising against him.

A truth commission found 110 cases of murders and disappearances of his opponents during his dictatorship.

Noriega's apology was cautiously welcomed by former anti-regime figures.

"It's time to heal our wounds. There are too many of them still open and there will be many more if we don't know how to act like true human beings and continue harboring vengeance," said law professor Miguel Antonio Bernal, once a fierce Noriega opponent.

Aurelio Barria, another leading opponent, said the apology "has value and cannot go unnoticed."

But, he added, "I think we Panamanians are surprised and asking ourselves, 'Why now? What's his goal?'"

Noriega still has pending cases against him for the disappearances of activists in the 1970s, when he was head of the National Guard and right-hand man to then-de facto dictator Omar Torrijos.

Authorities have repeatedly rejected his requests to be placed under house arrest due to failing health.

After surrendering to the US military following an invasion that left some 500 people dead, Noriega was jailed for 20 years in the United States for drug trafficking.

He was then extradited to France and jailed two years for money laundering, before being extradited back to Panama.