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Ricardo Martinelli has been convicted of money laundering in his native Panama and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The Panama Government approved the safe passage for former President Ricardo Martinelli to leave the country for Nicaragua, after facing a money laundering prison.
Foreign Minister Javier Martínez-Caza, Vásquez, announced Thursday that Martinelli would be allowed to leave, citing concerns about the health of the former president.
Martinelli had been granted previously asylum by Nicaragua, and has been avoiding arrest protecting himself in the country’s embassy in Panama City.
Panama’s Foreign Minister refused to mention details about the health concerns that Martinelli faces.
“Since Justice’s timeline does not always coincide with the health timeline, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has decided to recognize the asylum granted to Mr. Martinelli Berrocal by the Nicaraguan government,” said Martínez-Caza Vásquez.
“This asylum is recognized and safe behavior is granted for strictly humanitarian reasons.”
Martinelli, 73, has exhausted all the appeals in his case after being sentenced in 2023 to 10 years in prison for money laundering. He also received a fine of $ 19 million in the case.
The conviction led to an end of Martinelli’s political career. Last year, Panama’s Electoral Court ruled that he could not run in the presidential race of that year
The Constitution of Panama prohibits anyone with a criminal sentence of five years or more of occupying a chosen position. However, before the ruling, Martinelli was considered a favorite in the race.
Martinelli has always maintained his innocence. But prosecutors successfully argued that he used their influence as president, from 2009 to 2014, to award government contracts to companies that later channeled money to an organization called “new businesses.”
That company was a front, prosecutors alleged. And they said Martinelli took advantage of it to buy an editorial business that controlled national newspapers.
The “new business” scandal was one of the various controversies that Martinelli faced after leaving office.
He and his two children, Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares and Ricardo Martinelli Linares, have also been accused of participation in the Odebrecht scandal, a case of international corruption that caught leaders from several Latin American countries.
Former supermarket entrepreneur and popular right -wing figure, Martinelli has remained at the Nicaraguan embassy since February 2024, where he has used social networks to communicate with his followers.
Panama, until Thursday, has rejected his request to leave the country. But in the period prior to the announcement of the Panamanian Foreign Minister that it will now be allowed to leave, Martinelli expressed concern that the country’s police could be intercepted.
“They must be planning against me having Alfa Units of the National Police outside the Nicaraguan Embassy,” he wrote on the social media platform X Thursday.
Martinelli has until midnight on March 31 to leave.
