How one man's three-hour plane ride with dictator Manuel Noriega became a blessing

A former DEA agent said he once became so immersed in his undercover assignment that he lost his true self to his alter ego.

Omar Aleman shared his compelling faith testimony at the CBMC Metro Prayer Breakfast on Wednesday at the Oklahoma City Convention Center, 100 Mick Cornett Dr.

Aleman said he served as an undercover agent and created a fake persona as an international drug dealer who was "not a nice guy." He said he was part of the U.S. Panama invasion of 1989 and personally arrested Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega. It was on a three-hour plane ride to bring the criminal leader back to the U.S. to face justice, that Aleman realized he'd become an "undercover Christian."

"You see we are not called to be 'undercover' — we are called to be under Christ" Aleman told the crowd.

The native Cuban's intriguing story was one of the highlights of the CBMC Oklahoma City — Connecting Businessmen to Christ, which drew more than 1,100 people.

Aleman migrated from Cuba to the U.S., where he completed high school before earning a bachelor's degree in criminology and a master's degree in criminal psychology. He currently leads CBMC Latino in South Florida and Aleman & Associates, which provides drug-free workplace training across the country, but he once served the DEA for 32 years, working in several capacities, including a criminal investigator, covert agent, intelligence advisor, training director and eradication campaign coordinator.

Aleman said Noriega, who died in 2017, had once been considered a friend of the U.S. but he eventually became an enemy. He said he realized after apprehending Noriega and embarking on the three-hour plane ride to bring the dictator to justice that he and the criminal were similar.

"We both are walking up a plank (to get on the plane) and then it struck me — he was a fugitive from justice ... and I was a fugitive from God," Aleman said.

He said he was supposed to interrogate Noriega but he spent the unforgettable plane ride reading biblical scripture to the disgraced Panamanian leader.

Aleman urged breakfast attendees to take off the mask they may wear to become true followers of Christ and not just Sunday morning church worshippers or people who think they or revenue are the most important thing in life.

"I took off the mask," he said. "I wore this mask for so long, it became my face. I was an undercover Christian."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: How one man was blessed by his three-hour plane ride with a dictator