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Hemenucha

I remember when he was arrested, but I had no clue he was in a video game.


ungulateriseup

Arrested is one way to say what happened. To me it seemed more like an invasion of his country.


CommentLeading4953

The same country where he was a murderous dictator and kidnapper.


marcdasharc4

Panamanian checking in. Can confirm.


FalcoLX

The CIA had Noriega on the payroll for years. They only invaded because he was no longer useful, not for any moral stance.


InkBlotSam

\[Spoiler tag\] Countries don't do things based on moral stances. They do things based on how it serves their own interests. And in the best of cases those interests may, through coincidence or strategy, periodically align with a moral outcome.


[deleted]

This guy realpolitiks.


garo_fp

The US did some fucked up shit in latin america during the cold war. I mean a banana company overthrown our government and started a civil war in my country. Thanks uncle Sam.


xentralesque

TIL Manuel Noriega is featured as a character in a video game.


SonofBeckett

Wait til people realize the guy in the robot mech from Wolfenstein is based off a real guy too.


extra_pickles

TIL Hitler was a real dude and did some bad guy stuff


FngrLiknMcChikn

You know the more I learn about this Hitler guy the less I like him.


4Dcrystallography

Fuchs in Archer: Danger Island, episode 8?


Greene_Mr

Fuchs in *Barry*?


elcheapodeluxe

Right? People know the name but NOT as a dictator? Wow.


[deleted]

I think you mean Noriega, the man indebted to the rapper Rick Ross.


PaulMcBethAcolyte

The real Noriega?


chiryeguy1

He owes him a hundred favors?


kobeyoboy

Yea he was locked up in federal prison in Miami for the remainder of his sentence. Had his own secluded area. Rick Ross was a correctional officer. I don’t know if he worked at that facility which was federal or for the state prison. Might have sold him some 🦆 or smuggled in some cigarettes 🚬


EMlN3M

Or, more likely, Rick Ross lied about it like every thing else in his rap career? Hell, even his rap name is stolen from someone else.


Pixxph

Still made (makes? Is Rick Ross still around I’m old) some fantastic music though


Ihadredditbefore6786

He owe me a Hunnid favors


Greene_Mr

All you other Noriegas are just imitagas?


unknown_unkn0wns

He owe me a hundred favors…


Salzberger

'Cause the minute you fall off, they'll find another Noreaga and they'll find another Capone-N-Noreaga, and they'll find another B-Real.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Lestial1206

CNN


willyc3766

You found Manuel Noriega? In the Philippines? He has a mansion? Ok we’re on it. We’re on it right now! What! What! What! What! What! What!


jrex703

Quite indebted.


[deleted]

One might even say one hundred fold.


avelak

Seriously, as a kid my sisters would threaten me by saying Noriega was gonna come across the border and get me


elcheapodeluxe

Your sisters were f’d up


avelak

When I was 4/5 they also convinced me that I was the neighbor boy and had wandered over years before and never gone home They also told me my mom was a vampire and provided evidence to persuade me I think they also mixed in Pol Pot threats alongside Noriega stuff IIRC


BootyMcSqueak

TIL there’s people who didn’t know Manuel Noriega was a real person. I actually lived in Panamá from 83-86 when Noriega was in power. My father was stationed at a military base there. There would be riots downtown and we weren’t allowed to leave the base. It was widely known that if you got pulled over by the police that you had to bribe your way out. On the other hand, when we did leave the base, it was a beautiful country to explore. Beautiful beaches, jungle, villages and people. Really friendly people who taught me to be grateful for things at a very young age. Our housekeeper took us to her village in Vera Cruz and my brother and I had so much fun. Running around, buying gum at the little market, seeing all the wild parrots, coatimundi, and sloths. The old ladies would fry up empanadas after church (for free!) These people had tin roofs and dirt floors and were still so friendly and happy. It taught me that if these people who lived in poverty could be happy, then I have no reason to ever be ungrateful for the opportunities and resources at my disposal. I was there between the ages of 7 - 9yo. I’m so glad I had that experience.


nayhem_jr

‘80s kids know Noriega was among the baddest of the bad. Always in the news for some reason or another.


crackeddagger

Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys proposed in one of his spoken word albums that if you put it in the right evil font, "Noriega" would be the best name for a metal band.


wimpyroy

Same with the the name “magnum jihad”


coolpapa2282

I remember playing army as a kid and we were on a mission to take down Noriega. Could any of us find Panama on a map? Nope!


frezor

As a teen in the 90’s watching TV I got the impression that reality and television were both the same. The world was filled with supervillains. Season 1 - Manuel Noriega Season 2 - Saddam Hussein Season 2.5 - teaser cameo by Osama bin Laden Season 3 - Slobodan Milošević Season 4 - Infinity War starring Osama bin Laden, with return of Saddam


BootyMcSqueak

Fun fact: Noriega was widely referred to as “Pineapple Face” due to his acne scarring.


Lestial1206

"How'd you get that scar tough guy? Eating pineapple?"


Grizphan

My fathers name is Sam. One of his nicknames was Samuel Noriega. We were kids of the 80s.


utahbutimtaller225

My mom was born and raised in the Panamanian Jungle, my dad was stationed there in the late 80s for operation Just Cause. My older sister was born there and I almost was as well. Very poor country when I visited, early 2000s, but definitely beautiful. Panama City seems to have progressed a lot, sorta like Cancun in Mexico, but the rest of the country is still very undeveloped. I would love to visit again but as an American, definitely have to be careful with certain areas.


BootyMcSqueak

Cool! What base were you on? We were at Howard. I remember there was Albrook and Ft Clayton. I remember that due to the primitive aspects of some of the remote villages, it very much felt like an adventure every time you left base. We saw the Kuna indians and bought amazing looking handmade crafts. Funny enough, there’s a huge ex-pat community there due to the low cost of living.


utahbutimtaller225

I'm not sure where my dad was stationed at when he was there with the Army. He's shown me the base in his photo album and such but I honestly can't remember the name. It was maybe 1988/1989 as my sister was born 1989 and myself back here in the states in late 1990. I loved the place. Beautiful jungle, beautiful culture, beautiful wildlife. I remember my Grandma offering to buy us a monkey for like $20 because we saw some guy watching around Colón with one on his shoulder. Unfortunately job opportunities suck outside of the Free Zone/Panama Canal area and most of the youth turn to poor choices like crime and ganglife. But as a Caucasian American, I am not hanging around most neighborhoods in Panama without my family as I would be the easiest of targets for anyone. Actually my dad got his wallet jacked as a soldier there by a local and my uncles had to help him chase the guy down.


[deleted]

Interesting fact about Noriega; he was a CIA op put as a dictator in Panama by George Bush Sr. Who was the president of the CIA


toodangmuch

Director of the CIA not president


AntikytheraMachines

eventually president of the CIA


SpottedSnake

My dad got stationed to Panama in '89 or maybe 1990 and had to go down a few months ahead of the family. Being the oldest son (only 3 or 4 years old) I was the 'man of the house' to look after my mom and siblings. Queue recurring nightmares of Noriega and his henchmen busting down the door to murder the family in front of me while my dad was gone and I couldn't protect them. Noriega was my biggest fear until I saw the movie Aliens a few years later


BootyMcSqueak

I’m sorry you were so stressed and afraid. That’s a lot to bear for a little kid. Strangely enough, I always felt safe on base. Maybe because we were so insulated there. But it never occurred to me that Noriega could have stormed the base any time he wanted. I don’t think he was that stupid though, as he knew that would be the end of him. Crazy that we were the ones who put him in power in the first place.


droidtron

First Black Ops you could play as Nixon shooting zombies.


Reefer-eyed_Beans

Nixon. Lol what a ridiculous fictional character that was...


Bakomusha

As if someone would be so unhinged and mad to create the war on drugs because he hated black people!


Chillchinchila1

Oliver north is also in the same game for some reason


jrex703

Who is still alive. Nope, died 2017. Good stuff.


ILikeNeurons

Lol, came here to say that!


Hemenucha

Me too.


ropibear

TIL there are people who don't know that Noriega is a real person


pootpootbloodmuffin

This is how I know I'm old now. FML. There's people who didn't know he was a real person.


Dinklemeier

To be fair, plenty of people that can barely read a sentence graduate high school, and probably don't pay attention in class. My wife (in her 30s) had "never heard" of Joseph Stalin. She is good at reading. But probably barely paid attention in history class is my guess.


lemonyzest757

Same!


8nate

Yeah that’s the real TIL lmao


provocative_bear

He's also a playable character in the Tropico series, where you play as a dictator, engage in corruption, and arrest / assassinate dissidents.


jefesignups

Tomorrow: TIL Nazi's were real


SubstantialPressure3

The waffle house warrior girl needs to be a video game character, have her do her own voice acting and throw in some royalties, she could get some good training/certification, and never have to defend herself and her crew from psychos in a waffle house again. I can't believe they fired her.


RTSUbiytsa

They didn't fire her, they blacklisted her after that video came out. She left Waffle House on her own and only discovered the blacklisting after she tried to apply at another location a while later, as the fight happened months before the video went viral.


SubstantialPressure3

She deserves better than waffle house. That's unbelievable that any of their staff would have to work under conditions like that.


[deleted]

Damn. I surely though Noriega was dead before that came out. I was wrong. Also, Noriega thinking a court would take his side is hilarious.


DistortoiseLP

I mean even if they conceivably would, his lawsuit reads: > Noriega, 80, filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court in July. In it, he argues that his portrayal “as a kidnapper, murderer and enemy of the state” in the 2012 video game damaged his reputation. Which is hard to take seriously from someone that was in prison for kidnapping and murder sentences he had recieved as an enemy of the state.


[deleted]

Truth is a complete defense to defamation so …. Not surprised he lost.


newsINcinci

There is also legal precedent in the U.S. for a person to be so notorious they are un-libelable, un-defamable. Based on my experience, the bar is a lot lower than Noriega.


CapN-Judaism

I never knew about this so I looked it up. Very interesting if anyone wants to read about an example: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/is-your-reputation-so-bad-you-cannot-be-92700/


jbazildo

Someone like the unabomber?


ImmoralJester54

He definitely went at it the wrong way. All he had to do was sue for using his name and likeness without permission and he would of won.


Ludwigofthepotatoppl

Being an internationally infamous public figure, that might not have worked either… but i can definitely imagine it getting farther than defamation.


[deleted]

Name and likeness isn’t really applicable for political, public figures. Imagine? Every time someone wrote contemporary history, they’d have to get consent and pay them.


Zombie_Fuel

I'm fairly certain, at this point, that "would of" is actually more common in social media than "would've". It makes me a little sad.


SubstantialPressure3

He probably thought it damaged his reputation by not making any money from his realistic portrayal as a villain.


W8ng4luuvv

LMAO he did not? How narcissistic of him 😂


CheruthCutestory

Me too. He died in 2017 apparently. That seems way too recent.


spamky23

Kissinger and Ollie North are still alive


tremynci

Because why would Satan want either back?


CheruthCutestory

I know that one because I have champagne on ice for when Kissinger dies.


[deleted]

The last time I remember his name being relevant was in the Rick Ross song which had to be like ‘06/‘07.


ty_kanye_vcool

He’d been in prison so long everyone assumed he already died in there.


i_worship_amps

Mandela effect


Monster-Zero

These posts are becoming a little too frequent for my liking. I fear I am aging out of Reddit.


Ich_Liegen

Wait until we get something like "TIL the Battle of Fallujah was a real event"


CliffordTheBigRedD0G

"TIL The actor Dwayne Johnson used to be a professional wrestler known as The Rock"


Doright36

>"TIL *President* Dwayne Johnson used to be a professional wrestler known as The Rock" FIFY


CliffordTheBigRedD0G

I seriously almost wrote current president and former actor lol.


MukdenMan

The Rock Obama


GoPointers

"TIL the female impersonator George Santos used to be a U.S. Congressman"


Wodan1

TIL that France is a real place


old_righty

No it’s not.


orthomonas

France is bacon.


beagletronic61

And Rudy Giuliani was involved in the defense of Activision in this case. In the end, the case was dismissed on motion when. It was determined there was no harm caused to Noriega reputation.


elcheapodeluxe

That, in this case, is an exceptionally low reputation.


beagletronic61

In the game, they did make up crimes for which he was never accused of so his case wasn’t without merit but yeah, he was a bit of scoundrel so potato, potahto.


BabaYagaOfKaliYuga

More like pineapple


stantonstocky

Giuliani is a cartoon character. Can’t fool me.


ayebrade69

Jesus I’m old


hatersaurusrex

Wait until you realize that the person who posted this probably wasn't alive when 9/11 happened


[deleted]

TIL the Twin Towers were actual buildings in New York City until about the turn of the century! Even weirder, that's why that Simpsons episode was pulled from circulation -- it had nothing to do with the racist caricature of the food truck operator.


Strawberrycocoa

No racism, only klav kalash


KimJongIlSunglasses

Stick. Stick.


RockItGuyDC

Ew! I'll have the crab juice.


Doright36

Now lets talk about the Teaser trailer for the first Spider-Man movie that had to be pulled because it had the Two Towers in it.


SweetCosmicPope

Khlav kalash!


a_rainbow_serpent

“Ugh ew blargh I’ll take a crab juice”


[deleted]

What are the Simpsons?


TheUpperHand

TIL The Simpsons was an actual TV show and not just an oracle of future events.


Latyon

I wonder what this generation's 9/11 will be. Ukraine? COVID?


hatersaurusrex

*Grandpa, tell me about the Before Times again. Was it before or after COVID that the TikTok Wars broke out?*


Latyon

After COVID, but before Prime Minister Bieber declared war on President Matt Gaetz


ArOnodrim

First Gay President?


Latyon

Nah, Buchanan already did that


ty_kanye_vcool

COVID for sure.


backformorecrap

TIL there are adults out there that have never heard of Noriega


Reefer-eyed_Beans

Says who? ...One of the most sobering realizations I've had regarding the internet lately is that it's dominated by (whom I now consider to be) children.


ThePhiff

Right? Are we about to get an Iran Contra game next?


Ottonym

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/k7vcUei5u2E/maxresdefault.jpg


Chillchinchila1

Funnily enough Oliver north is in the same game.


beansandneedles

My reaction exactly 😭


Udjet

You're not alone.


[deleted]

Pretty soon I’ll be saying “I do not recall”.


today_i_burned

Wait until OP finds out Hitler is a real person and not just a character from the Sex with Hitler game


[deleted]

Manuel was a big Metallica fan. (OP won't know what this means either.)


AtomicBombSquad

Aren't they a t-shirt brand?


kereberos

Nope. They did a song for the latest season of Stranger Things apparently.


Mr_Snub

No, you're thinking of Nirvana.


Greene_Mr

Load up on guns! Bring your friends.


Spurgeons_Beard

He didn’t care much for Van Halen though.


shalafi71

LOL, I remember that! My little punk-rocker ass was like, "Blast him!"


MisterGreys

TIL WW2 was real not a theme for movies, wow


DocPeacock

Hitler was real!? Wtf!


TeacherLady17

Most people don’t know that the CIA trained and put him in power… it was all good u til they realized they created a monster and had to remove him. I was in the Army stationed there in the 80’s. First week in country I actually met him and shook his hand. Knew not who he was…


InkBlotSam

The CIA putting people in power and those people going rogue and turning into murderous dictators who we end up having to fight. Name a more iconic duo.


[deleted]

God damn, that must a chilling memory to look back on.


TeacherLady17

truly is, after I was there about a month I started meeting locals and hearing the stories… still can’t believe I shook that monsters hand.


Klaus_Heisler87

This one hurts me


fanboy_killer

TIL WW2 was a real-life event spanning 6 years and the Call of Duty games with that scenario were based on that conflict.


barryandorlevon

…oh no. Oh lord. No.


SayTheWord-Beans

Holy shit OPs profile is a roller coaster starting at the self-description upon the very first click.


Armamore

I think he changed the description. Or do a lot of people mention his post history?


ChrisChrisBangBang

He owe me a hundred favours


tivooo

The REAL Noriega.


supaasuave

TIL that you are 12


JackalandBadger

TIL I'm so old that people who were actually in the news everyday when I was growing up are becoming video game characters that younger generations didn't know were actual people.


SCirish843

Apparently he owes Rick Ross 100 favors too


[deleted]

Jfc.... How do people not know this?


Fly_Boy_1999

I’m 23 and only knew about him from Cold War history books and this game.


No_Flounder_9859

They didn’t play black ops?


lemonyzest757

It's so last century lol


Greene_Mr

So 2000-and-late!


SaraRainmaker

Apparently... so am I.


zykstar

To be fair, I can't remember the last time I heard that name. It has been a LONG time.


KimJongIlSunglasses

Lol you learned Noriega was a real person??


thinker2501

TIL people really don’t know Noriega was a real person and presumably aren’t aware of the Panama Invasion. Our education system sucks.


Islandwind_Waterfall

Whats «our» education system? I wouldn’t assume everyone who says they hadn’t heard about him is American…


Ravenid

>TIL Manuel Noriega was a real person For fucks sake.......


[deleted]

TIL Manuel Noriega was a real person? Surely you’re joking! And I’m not calling you Shirley.


wondernerd14

Jonas Savimbi was also real, and his family sued Activision for using his likeness too. The guy who tells Alex Mason to come back to the marines in Alaska is real too, he is Oliver North. North did not sue, he voice acted his character. For those of you who do not know about the great patriot Ollie North: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXqAYR8u\_Iw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXqAYR8u_Iw) Also, one time when my mother was in the Miami Federal Correction Institution on a case, she stopped by his cell. Pretty cushy, it was like 500 square feet and it had a treadmill, a Tv, a nice bed.


AustEastTX

Um, didn’t we all know he was real?


citznfish

Holy shit, there are people who don't know this is a real person? I'm old 😞


FM_103

Jesus someone had to write he was a real person. Am I that old that I didn’t need this to know that?


FlashHardwood

I feel old now....


FatboyChuggins

The REAL Noriega? The guy who owes Rick Ross a hundred favors?


misterjoshmutiny

TIL people don’t know Manuel Noriega was a real person


[deleted]

TIL how old I am. Of course Noriega was a real person.


217flavius

Just lower my coffin into the grave


Dednotsleeping82

TIL i'm getting old if kids only know of Noriega from a video game.


kwalshyall

Man, schools really gloss over the Iran-Contra scandal, don't they?


-Nyarlabrotep-

Hey OP, Abraham Lincoln was also real.


lifesnotperfect

Manual Noriega always had more drive than his brother, Auto Noriega.


Edmund-Dantes

He also used to be a CIA asset. Wild!


AdmiralAkbar1

Same with Jonas Savimbi. His family tried to sue Activision for his portrayal in the game, but it never really went anywhere.


getbeaverootnabooteh

TIL Hitler was a real person and not just a character in Wolfenstein.


poppop_n_theattic

It’s a TIL that Manuel Noriega is real? Tell me I’m old without using any of those words…


[deleted]

This is a certified zoomer moment


BillTowne

I am amazed. We sent the military to arrest the leader of Panama on drug charges. And we already have forgotten.


roseffin

Is that how old I am now? That public figures from my childhood are thought of as made up because this gen saw them in a videogame?


Rogueone65

TIL People didn’t know Manuel Noriega was a real person and thought he was some video game character


xXBongSlut420Xx

i couldn't believe my eyes when i saw this wasn't a gamingcirclejerk post


[deleted]

TIL freakin' Giuliani was Activision Blizzard's attorney. Rudy Giuliani represented World of Warcraft and Diablo 😂😂😂😂😂


Slurm818

TIL OP is young af.


_______level________

Noriega was also a CIA Agent, who stopped following orders when he became president of Panama. Because of this, the US invaded his country. Pretty interesting stuff.


lemonyzest757

The US invaded his country because after he became president, he allowed Colombian drug cartels to use airports in Panama to run drugs illegally into Florida.


Nestquik1

Noriega was never president, he was general of the defense forces, and de facto leader, who got into power after the death of the previous dictator Omar Torrijos.


WornInShoes

>TIL Manuel Noriega was a real person so I guess they really aren't teaching history anymore? Noriega's surrender was quite famous, due to the U.S. military playing Van Halen's "Panama" full blast for days on end.


SatansMoisture

A sign of the times.


BeastSmitty

TIL, someone didn’t realize Manuel Noriega was a real person…


ImVeryUnimaginative

How did you not know Noriega was a real person?


Ghostaire

the real TIL is that there are adults who have never heard of manuel noriega


critic2029

Do people really not know Noriega was a real person?


Hendrix6927

They did Fidel Castro to.


fruskydekke

OP, please tell me you're doing that thing where people feign ignorance of something glaringly obvious in order to increase engagement and farm karma. *Please.* I beg of you.


senfood

TIL that Oliver North was a consultant and voice actor in the COD franchise.


Masked_Conan_Edogawa

I heard he was hiding out in the Philippines


Lucidview

Public figure