Ex-dictator Manuel Noriega sues over Call of Duty video game
Former dictator Manuel Noriega, now languishing in a Panamanian prison for the killing of his political opponents, has taken exception to being portrayed as a murderer in a video game.
Former dictator Manuel Noriega, now languishing in a Panamanian prison for the killing of his political opponents, has taken exception to being portrayed as a murderer in a video game.
Noriega, 80, has filed a lawsuit against video game publisher Activision Blizzard, saying the company is using his image in its big-selling Call of Duty: Black Ops II game without his permission, in an effort to "increase the popularity and revenue" from the title.
The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.
In the complaint, Noriega said he had been damaged by Activision's portrayal of him as "the culprit of numerous fictional heinous crimes", including kidnapping and murder, adding that Activision was using his likeness to heighten the game's realism and increase sales.
Noriega is seeking unspecified restitution as well as lost profits.
Call of Duty is one of the video game industry's biggest successes, racking up more than US$1 billion in sales just 15 days after its release in 2012.
Noriega was military dictator of Panama from 1983 to 1989. He was an informant for the US Central Intelligence Agency, according to historical accounts, but also worked with Colombian drug cartels and was eventually indicted in the United States on drug and racketeering charges.