Nicaragua grants asylum to former Panamanian president Ricardo Martinelli, convicted of money laundering

First modification: 02/07/2024 – 21:57Last modification: 02/07/2024 – 22:56

3 min

Former Panamanian president Ricardo Martinelli “requested asylum at the embassy of the Republic of Nicaragua in Panama, because he considered himself persecuted for political reasons and was at risk,” says a note sent by the Managua Foreign Ministry to Panama this Wednesday, February 7, which adds that the Government of President Daniel Ortega decided to grant it.

The note, read in Managua to the press by the vice president and Ortega's wife, Rosario Murillo, asks the Panamanian authorities “to provide assurances for the prompt departure and humanitarian transfer of the asylum seeker Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Berrocal to the territory of the Republic of Nicaragua. “.

The former right-wing president (2009-2014) had started his campaign for the presidential elections on May 5 on Saturdaya day after the Supreme Court published the ruling that rejected his last judicial appeal to annul the prison sentence.

Managua has granted asylum to other former presidents and senior Central American officials who face problems with justice, among them the former leftist Salvadoran leaders Mauricio Funes (2009-2014) and Salvador Sánchez Cerén (2014-2019).

After the ruling of the highest court, the Electoral Tribunal must formalize its marginalization from the electoral contest. Martinelli's sentence was to become final this Friday, with which the Panamanian Justice could order his arrest.

Martinelli, 71, was convicted last July to 128 months in prison and pay a fine of 19 million dollars for money laundering.

The first instance ruling was ratified in October by an appeals court, after which Martinelli filed a final appeal to try to overturn the sentence.

Since then, the former president and owner of a supermarket chain presented successive appeals for protection, in an apparent attempt to delay the final ruling of the Supreme Court until after the elections, but all were rejected.

“Shoddy magistrates”

Despite his legal troubles, Martinelli is so far very popular in Panama, according to polls. Other candidates for the May elections are former president Martín Torrijos (2004-2009) and current vice president José Gabriel Carrizo, both social democrats.

Martinelli is leader of the Realizing Goals party (RM, the initials of his name), whose candidate for vice president is his former Minister of Public Security José Raúl Mulino.

Both were candidates of the “Alliance to save Panama”, which makes up RM and the Alianza Party, which defines itself as nationalist and liberal.

Martinelli called the Supreme Court's ruling a “wild and illegal last-minute move” to get him out of the race.to electoral dictated by “poor magistrates”.

In addition, he asked his followers to support his running mate José Raúl Mulino if he is finally disqualified as a presidential candidate by the Electoral Court.

Publisher Purchase

Martinelli was tried for purchasing in 2010, while he was president, the majority of the shares of Editora Panamá América with money from the collection of commissions on infrastructure works.

For this acquisition, a part of the 43.9 million dollars that different companies deposited in a complex scheme of companies from the payment of bribes was used, up to 10% of the amount of the original public works contracts, according to the court.

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In this case, known as “New Business” due to the name of one of the companies used in the plot, the former president was tried from May 23 to June 2, 2023 and the ruling was handed down in July.

In addition, the former president will face another trial in July for the alleged laundering of bribes paid by the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht.

Two sons of the former president, Ricardo and Luis Enrique Martinelli, served two and a half years in prison in the United States for collecting commissions from Odebrecht.