Eleventh Circuit upholds Noriega's prosecution, setting precedent for foreign-leader accountability

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit upheld Manuel Noriega's drug trafficking conviction in July 1997, ruling that former foreign heads of state are not automatically immune from U.S. prosecution when the executive branch declines to assert that immunity. The court held that extraterritorial jurisdiction was valid under international law for acts producing effects within the United States, and that head-of-state immunity could only attach if the executive branch affirmatively asserted it. This ruling, originating in the Southern District of Florida — the same court later used for the Raúl Castro indictment — established the legal framework under which foreign government officials could face federal criminal prosecution in U.S. courts.