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OFF BEAT: Disgraced dictator Noriega wants cut of 'Call of Duty' profits

Posted On: Jul. 18, 2014 12:00 AM CST

Some guys just won’t stay down.

A murder sentence in a Panamanian prison is not stopping former dictator Manuel Noriega from suing video game producer Activision Blizzard Inc. for allegedly using his image without permission.

Noriega filed suit July 15 in Los Angeles Superior Court seeking restitution and lost profits, claiming Activision used his image to “increase the popularity and revenue” from “Call of Duty: Black Ops II.”

In his complaint, Noriega says that Activision portrayed him as “the culprit of numerous fictional heinous crimes,” this as opposed to the myriad of actual crimes littering the former CIA informant’s past.

After an ignominious tenure as dictator of Panama from 1983 to 1989 which included working closely with Colombian drug cartels, he was deposed during a U.S. invasion in 1989 and convicted in the U.S. in 1992 on drug and racketeering charges.

Noriega ended up back in Panama after being briefly extradited to France following his release from U.S. prison in 2010.

“Call of Duty” has been wildly successful for Activision, reportedly crossing the $1 billion sales threshold in just 15 days.