said , but he held out little hope that the president would intercede . `` I do n't think he 's being informed about this case , and it 's still being ignored , just like the Bush administration did , '' he said . `` I 'm trying not to let this affect me . I just got off the phone with my grandfather . He was adamant about making this injustice known , '' he said . Noriega 's Miami attorneys plan to send Clinton a letter Friday asking that the former Panamanian strongman be returned to his home country of Panama . Noriega 's trial judge declared him a prisoner of war after his drug and money laundering conviction in 1992 . Because of that status , he and his attorneys believe he should have been returned to Panama -- where he would face murder charges -- when his sentence ended in 2007 . But the federal courts have ruled against him , and he has remained in prison south of Miami . `` He was adamant about staying in Miami this whole time , '' said Beauchamp . `` His attitude now is ` whatever happens
Miami , Florida -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Growing up , Jean-Manuel Beauchamp attended no ball games with his grandfather . No barbecues , either , or bedtime stories . Beauchamp , now 20 , was 4 months old when the United States invaded Panama and seized his grandfather . Noriega was later convicted on drug charges and sentenced to 30 years in prison , reduced to 17 for good behavior . Now , three years after the end of his prison term , Beauchamp 's grandad -- former Panamanian military dictator Manuel Noriega -- remains behind bars pending Secretary of State Hillary Clinton 's decision whether to sign extradition documents . That outcome will likely come sooner rather than later . The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned down Noriega 's request for a new hearing , setting the stage for his extradition to France , where he has been convicted in abstentia on money laundering charges and faces a new trial . `` It 's all up to Hillary now , '' Beauchamp said . `` There 's not much hope in the courts any longer . '' President Obama has a role to play as well , Beauchamp