Martinelli admits to following CIA instructions

In a  four-page letter signed by Panama’s ex-president, Ricardo Martinelli.   and distributed by his lawyers.  he openly admits having followed “instructions of the CIA “and supported the interests “during his term, 2009- 2014.

The letter dated May 14  is addressed “to the government and the people of U.S”.

“I want the US government to know that always I was on the side of the United States when I was president, “he says. and refers to some “events” that show that his administration was “100% pro American”.

Some incidents narrated are completely unknown; others have already been exposed before  Judges Edwin Torres and Marcia Cooke, of the Court of Southern District of Florida that have endorsed his extradition of a process that would now be in the hands of the American State Department reports La Prensa.

Martinelli cites the interception of the North Korean vessel “Chong Chon Gang” arrested in Panama in 2013  when attempting to pass through to cross the Panama Canal with an undeclared Cuban weapon. According to him, the vessel was stopped at the request of the CIA. ” I personally checked the ship and found weapons, missiles, planes and radars that violated the embargo imposed by the United Nations, “he said in the letter. [Media reports: at the time described his appearance as a theatrical show]

Thanks to this action – at the time much trumpeted by the government itself – Martinelli says he received a call from then-Cuban President Raul Castro, who warned him “very clearly “that if the” Chong Chon Gang “was arrested, he would suffer” serious consequences “.

He also says he received a call from then  US president Barak Obama, to thank him for his intervention. “Then I informed the United States of the Cuban government’s threats” Subsequently, the vice president and secretary of state – who at that time were Joe Biden and John Kerry, – were sent to Panama, “to personally extend their thanks and to make sure that the threats had been taken seriously. If at some I needed to go to the United States, I could do so without fear. “

“I thought you could trust the promises of American officials. I was wrong, “Martinelli reflected.

The purpose of the letter, written before he canceled an appeal in an Atlanta court” leaving the road open for extradition, is unclear but is seen by some critics as a last-ditch attempt at being returned to Panama to face justice.