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A former military dictator who once found refuge in the Vatican Embassy in a bid to escape the U.S. Army has filed a lawsuit against Activision stating that the publisher has used his likeness in a Call of Duty game without his consent.

Mike Rose, Blogger

July 16, 2014

1 Min Read

A former military dictator who once found refuge in the Vatican Embassy in a bid to escape the U.S. Army, has filed a lawsuit against Activision stating that the publisher has used his likeness in a Call of Duty game without his consent. As noted by Courthouse News, former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega is suing Activision for "blatant misuse, unlawful exploitation and misappropriation for economic gain" of his image in the video game," in its game Call of Duty: Black Ops II. "In an effort to increase the popularity and revenue generated by Black Ops II, defendants used, without authorization or consent, the image and likeness of plaintiff in Black Ops II," reads the complaint. The lawsuit also states that the game caused "damage" to Noriega, as his character "was portrayed as an antagonist and portrayed as the culprit of numerous fictional heinous crimes, creating the false impression that defendants are authorized to use plaintiff's image and likeness." Noriega was convicted of drug dealing, racketeering and money laundering back in 1992, and after leaving prison in 2007, he then ended up in prison in Panama, where he still resides.

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