Former prosecutor brings criminal charges against President Martinelli

A former special prosecutor, who investigated crimes committed by Panama’s military dictatorship has brought criminal charges against President  Ricardo Martinelli,  for allegedly engaging in armed conflict with FARC(Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia).

Rodrigo Miranda, special senior prosecutor in the western province of Chiriqui in 1990 to investigate the crimes of the military dictatorship, told Acan-Efe that he filed the complaint with the Attorney General on February 11 via a wire, after a Panamanian patrol killed three guerrillas from FARC on January 27, says La Prensa

"Whatever is done by  president Martinelli, in conjunction with its foreign minister and vice president, Juan Carlos Varela, and his Interior Minister, Jose Raul Mulino, is a crime against the country, punishable with ten years’ imprisonment and immediate dismissal, "said the former senior special prosecutor.

He referred to Article 423 of the Panamanian Criminal Code which provides for punishment of five to ten years imprisonment for "whoever exchanges intelligence with a foreign government or its agents to produce hostilities or war against Panama’s military operations or to encourage other nations run against it, or any other act tending to these ends."

The lawyer said he has enough evidence to prove that Martinelli and his Colombian counterpart, Álvaro Uribe, have a secret deal to fight the FARC.
The Panamanian Government claims the incident was due to an accidental confrontation which occurred during a patrol by in Darien near the Columbian border.
Miranda said he decided to file the complaint after talking with a member of the patrol who participated in the action and assured him "It was an ambush."