Martinelli knew donated patrol boats not serviceable

WHILE  FORMER President Ricardo Martinelli was touting used Italian patrol boats donated to Panama as worth more than a  controversial  radar  contract, a deputy security Minister , was estimating their  value at zero because of the cost of  making them seaworthy.

New evidence has emerged that indicates that Martinelli  and other officials  including Raoul Mulino, then Security Minister now detained behind bars while under investigation, knew the boats y weren’t in proper working order before accepting them.

The evidence is crucial because the donation of the boats were part of a $250 million contract Panama signed with Italian defense contractor Finmeccanica to provide the country with radars, helicopters and a digital mapping system to improve its coastal defense, says a La Prensa report.

The contract was allegedly the result of a back-room deal between Martinelli and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. According to reports, Panama had only wanted to purchase helicopters, but was pressured to double the size of the contract to get the free boats.

But  the boats have been plagued with problems. One never made it out of an Italian shipyard. The others have experienced problems that have kept them mostly out of the water. Only two are in use, and the others need repairs totaling $1.2 million.

There have also been problems with the radars, which don’t work, and the digital mapping system, which has never been delivered. There is also the issue that Finmeccanica may have paid Panama officials a $25 million bribe, a case which is being heard in Italy.

Because of those factors, says La Prensa the boats have become an afterthought of the contract. But when Martinelli launched them in 2013, he was hoping they would overshadow any corruption scandals tainting the deal.

“These boats are worth more than the entire contract,” he said at a ceremony renaming four of the vessels.

But documents have shown that Martinelli  knew that wasn’t true.

A report by former Public Security Deputy Minister Alejandro Garuz (now in detention awaiting trial linked to wiretapping)  in March 2013 stated that the boats “are not in seaworthy condition.”

He filed that report after a meeting with Italian Admiral Pierluigi Cacioppo held in the presence of then-ambassador to Italy Guido Martinelli.

Garuz said it was crucial to “define who will bear the costs to repair these vessels.”

He estimated the value of the vessels at nothing, due to the high cost of repairing them.

Despite having that information, Martinelli continued to tout the great deal Panama had received. In April 2014, he posted a picture of one of the ships arriving in Panama, on his Twitter account stating it was valued at $25 million.