The former Panamanian leader, Manuel Noriega, has been extradited to France by the United States after spending more than 20 years in prison there.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signed a "surrender warrant" after all judicial challenges were resolved. French officials later confirmed he was on board an Air France flight to Paris.
A court in France convicted Noriega in his absence in 1999 for laundering money through French banks, though it says he will be granted a new trial.
The 76-year-old had wanted to be sent back to Panama after finishing his 17-year jail sentence in 2007.
But Noriega's lawyer in Miami, Frank Rubino, said he had not been notified and had only learned of his client's transfer from the media.
"Usually the government has - does things in a more professional manner and respects common courtesy and we're shocked that they didn't," he said. "I'm surprised that they didn't put a black hood over his head and drag him out in the middle of the night," he added.
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