11 December 2011 Last updated at 18:24 ET

Manuel Noriega extradited to Panama to serve jail terms

Panama's ex-leader Manuel Noriega has arrived back in his home country, where he is expected to be jailed following extradition from France.

His plane touched down in Panama City on Sunday evening after flying from Paris via Madrid.

He was convicted in absentia of crimes committed during his time in power from 1983 to 1989.

The 77-year-old has already spent more than 20 years in prisons in France and the United States.

Last month, a French court approved a request from Panama to send him back home to be jailed over his convictions for murder, corruption and embezzlement.

He had the right to appeal, but his lawyers said he wanted to return to Panama.

Foreign Minister Roberto Henriquez has said the government's priority is to guarantee Noriega's safety.

Noriega is believed to be travelling with a team of Panamanian officials, including the country's attorney-general and a doctor.

His critics have called on Panamanians to take to the streets upon his return later on Sunday to show their condemnation of the former dictator.

Murder of opponents

Although he was never president, General Manuel Noriega served as Panama's de facto leader between 1983 to 1989.

Once a US ally, he was arrested by invading American troops in January 1990, amid allegations he had turned the Central American nation into a drug-trafficking hub.

He spent 20 years in prison in the US after being convicted there of the charges.

In 2010, he was extradited from the US to France, where he had been convicted in absentia of laundering money from Colombian drug gangs through a French bank to buy property in Paris.

He received a seven-year jail sentence from the French court.

In Panama itself, he faces three 20-year jail terms for crimes committed during his rule, including the murders of political opponents.

Noriega is expected to be taken by helicopter to El Renacer prison, north-west of the capital and close to the Panama Canal.

However, it remains unclear whether he will remain there, as Panama allows people aged 70 years and above to serve their sentences at home.