Odds stacked against Martinelli sons in US extradition move

The sons of Ricardo Martinelli the former Panamanian president (2009-2014) arrested at  the La Aurora international airport (Guatemala), when preparing to board a private plane bound for Panama on July 6  stand little chance of avoiding extradition to the US to face money laundering charges according to legal experts..

 Former Guatemala Chancellor GabrielOrellana, for said that, based on the constitutive treaty of the Central American Parliament (Parlacen), the Martinelli Linares brothers may come to occupy the position, and consequently enjoy immunity, when the Central American deputy elected by Panama to whom they should replace is absent.

In other words, if the main deputy is in office, then they are not replacing any incumbent. “They cannot be considered titular deputies and, consequently, they cannot enjoy immunity,” he said.

Also says  Orellana the US  is not part of the Parlacen constitutive treaty. Guatemala and Panama, by contrast, are.

Thus, says  the former foreign minister Guatemala could not impose on the US the existence of a treaty that does not bind it.

In Orellana’s opinion, the problem for the defense of the Martinelli Linares brothers lies in the elements that they will use to oppose the extradition request. 

“They could attack procedural claims, or say, that the crime prescribed is non-existent … but that is practically impossible,” he said. “The statistical odds are against them,” he added.

Meanwhile, for the professor of international law, Alonso Illueca, one of the essential problems that will arise in this process will lie in the fact of whether or not the Martinelli Linares brothers have alleged immunity as substitute deputies for Parlacen. This is the aspect that, according to Illueca, seems to be what the sons of the former Panamanian president evoke since they presented their diplomatic cards or identification when they were captured.

In this regard, he stated that it is necessary to adhere to what the host country agreement says that establishes immunity against any arrest or detention. However, in order for Parlacen deputies to be subjects of this immunity regime, they have to comply with certain procedures, such as their due swearing-in, which is stipulated in articles 17, 18, 19 and 20 of the internal regulations of the body and there is no record that they attended the swearing-in ceremony held in November 2019, nor that they have done so before the national bench of Panama (taking into account that they were absent from their country of origin.

In the television program, Illueca also emphasized that what the Martinelli Linares brothers are claiming is that they cannot be subject to the extradition process because they are, in theory, removed from Guatemalan jurisdiction.

“The Parlacen is the one who has to claim the immunity of the deputies. If the Parlacen considers that the deputies are immune, they have to request Guatemala to respect the headquarters agreement, “he said.

However, if Parlacen says they have not been sworn in and have no immunity then it would go straight to the bottom and would be an extradition process that would not involve Parlacen in any way. It would be between Guatemala and the United States, Illueca said.

According to the indictment filed by  FBI Special Agent Michael Lewandowski of FBI) with the Eastern District Court of New York, Ricardo Alberto and Luis Enrique reportedly participated as “intermediaries” in bribery payments of $28 million, ” under the leadership of Odebrecht ”.

The monies would have benefited a Panamanian public servant, whose name is not listed at the moment in the US indictment, but who is described as “an officer with a very high position in the Panamanian government and a  “close relative” of the two accused between 2009 and 2014 – the period corresponding to the presidential mandate of  their father