Noriega back in prison after stroke
Ex-Panamanian leader in good spirits, attorney's assistant says
MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Former Panamanian leader Manuel Antonio Noriega returned to federal prison Monday for the first time since suffering a minor stroke last week, a spokesman for the Bureau of Prisons said.
"He's back," said spokesman Dan Dunn.
An assistant to Noriega attorney Frank Rubino said the former leader told her Monday he was in good spirits, although tired.
"He's happy to be home," Rubino's assistant said.
On Saturday, Rubino said Noriega, 70, had been moved to a Miami-area hospital and treated for a minor stroke that he had three days earlier.
Rubino said no neurological damage was detected from the stroke.
Noriega was taken into federal custody after the U.S. military's December 1989 invasion of Panama.
He was seized on U.S. drug trafficking charges, brought to the United States and put on trial.
Noriega was convicted in 1992 and sentenced to 40 years in prison. That sentence was later reduced by 10 years.
