CITY OF PANAMA.- He former Panamanian president Ricardo Martinelli He received political asylum from the Daniel Ortega regime, after exhausting his legal options to reverse a sentence of almost 11 years in prison for money laundering crimes.
The Managua Foreign Ministry reported that Martinelli claimed to be the object of “political persecution” and that his safety is at risk, which is why he went to the Nicaraguan Embassy in Panama in search of protection. The Sandinista dictatorship decided to grant him asylum immediately.
Martinelli, who governed Panama between 2009 and 2014, had launched his campaign for the May 5 presidential election shortly before the Supreme Court rejected his latest court appeal against his prison sentence. His exclusion from the electoral race now depends on the Electoral Tribunal, after the ruling of the highest court.
Condemn Martinelli
The former Panamanian president, 71, was sentenced last July to more than ten years in prison and a million-dollar fine for his participation in money laundering activities, a sentence that was ratified in October. Despite his legal efforts to overturn the decision, he faced a series of judicial setbacks.
Martinelli, known for his Realizing Goals (RM) party, denounced the Supreme Court ruling, which he claims is an illegal attempt to marginalize him from the electoral race. Although his popularity remains notable in Panama, he faces electoral competition that includes former presidents and other candidates of different political orientations.
Martinelli’s legal case focuses on the purchase of the majority of the shares of Editora Panamá América in 2010, during his presidency, using funds allegedly coming from bribes in public works contracts. This and other cases related to alleged corruption have marked his political career and that of his family, with two of his sons serving sentences in the United States for crimes linked to the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht.
Source: With information from AFP
