Reply #6: Noriega was never president...

[David in Canada]

Noriega served as Commander of the Panama Defence Forces from 1983 until his ouster in 1989. In this capacity, Noriega was the de facto leader of Panama, albeit not the de jure leader.

Noriega was the power behind the throne through hand-selected puppet presidents that he had elected in sham elections. The only current instance of such a leader is Muammar Qaddafi, who holds the honourific title of "Leader of the Revolution" albeit he serves as neither de jure Head of State nor Head of Government.

It was because of Noriega's status as a de facto ruler that he was not subject to diplomatic immunity. The same case holds true for Qaddafi, who never leaves Libya.