My lecture on Panama’s military dictator, drug overlord and CIA agent Manuel Noriega was a huge success. At first, the students were skeptical, so I told them that when I first heard the story from my professor many years ago, I also didn’t believe it and thought the prof must have been under the influence of a narcotic substance. But then I discovered that she was completely sober and the story was true.
By the end of the lecture, everybody in class was in stitches. This is a tragic story that is also so hilarious that you can’t avoid laughing.
“This guy Noriega could have gotten a great movie deal out of this whole thing,” one student said, wiping off tears of laughter.
“Nah,” I responded. “It is too bizarre to be credible even for a Hollywood movie.”
My idea to add a series of lectures on Latin American conflicts
to my Hispanic Civ course has proven to be great. The students are riveted. One of them hopped to class on crutches because he says he didn’t want to miss it. Another student brought a group of friends. I’ve had to work like an animal to prepare this material but the hard work is paying off.
And we still have to talk about the drug wars in Mexico and Colombia, about Cuba, Guatemala, Venezuela, and Bolivia.
Clarissa's Blog 
Noriega’s story would make a great opera. This would be a much better option than a movie. (I don’t know anything about it except what I have read in newspapers over the years, but that is my impression.)
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