Noriega Returning To Panama To Face Murder Charges

A combo photo of Panamanian General Manuel Noriega in and out of power -- in 1989 (left) and 1990

Former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega is returning home to face murder charges after being extradited from France, where he was serving a sentence for money laundering.

Noriega was extradited to France in 2010 after serving 17 years in a U.S. prison on a drug-trafficking conviction.

Panama's Foreign Ministry says French doctors had determined the 77-year-old Noriega was fit to travel to Panama to face the new charges.

It is Noriega's first trip back since being ousted by a U.S. invasion in 1989.

compiled from agency reports