Arrest warrant will follow if Martinelli runs

THE EXTRADITION order and accompanying arrest warrant for former president Ricardo Martinelli can be sent to”any nation on earth”  if he skips out of the United States where he has been for over a year.

The statement came from Foreign Ministry Directot of  Legal Affairs Farah Urrutia

“It’s a possibility [that Ricardo Martinelli  will leave the US while we are preparing the order but it can follow him  him wherever he is . That’s not difficult,” she  told TVN News.

Urrutia confirmed that the extradition request is  in the hands of the Foreign Ministry, after including an arrest warrant.

Last week, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed the US government that it will be submitting a formal request for extradition and arrest of the ex-president, who is  residing in a beachfront condo in Brickell, Miami, Florida.

Martinelli is required by the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ), that on 21 December last year ordered his arrest, to appear to answer to  the unauthorized interception of communications from the National Security Council during his government (2009-2014).

On Friday, May 10  during a Copa America football match in Chicago, Martinelli told reporters that he considered his extradition request was “pure bullshit” because in his opinion the cases against him  “are all political , without substance.” He said he was “happy and content” reports  La Prensa.

Martinelli left Panama on January 28, 2015 and  has since not returned to the country. The prosecutor in the wiretap case is calling for a 21-year jail term. And Martinell faces at least five other cases linking him to corruption and embezzlement.