US has “consequences” for corrupt  individuals  – State Department

“We don’t say that we are not going to negotiate with a government if it has some corruption, but there are consequences for corrupt individuals. Visas can be denied to them and their families, or we can impose sanctions,” said, Michael Kozak, US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs.in In a wide-ranging  interview with Radio Panama on Thursday he touched on corruption, the extradition from Guatemala  of the brothers Luis Enrique and Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Linares, their father’s attempt to use   a 1904  treaty to avoid trial in Panama after being extradited from Miami

For Kozak, the biggest drawback for a robust economy is corruption.

Although he did not want to speculate on the outcome of the Martinelli Linares brothers’ extradition request,  he said that in the United States extradition requests are initiated by the Department of Justice and there are US authorities who work with the authorities of other countries to carry out the process. “It is an issue that is underway.”

The Martinelli Linares brothers are detained in Guatemala following an extradition request by the United States to face a criminal complaint filed by a federal court in Brooklyn, New York, in which

where the Martinelli Linares, sons of former president Ricardo Martinelli (2009 – 2014),  they are accused of alleged participation in massive bribery and money laundering scheme. money involving the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht.

As for the principle of specialty that Martinelli uses to avoid being investigated in cases like Odebrecht and New Business, Kozak said that Panama is free to bring him to trial without obtaining an exemption from that rule.

“Under our interpretation, you do not need anything from us to be able to take action, it is a matter of Panamanian law. If the judicial authorities of Panama have something they want to do with Mr. Martinelli, they can do it, if they choose not to do it, that is their choice and it has nothing to do with the United States, ”he stressed.

He said that the repercussions of the Odebrecht case for the region were of enormous consequences due to a large amount of money and the linked high-level officials.

He reiterated that in the United States, the law against corrupt practices abroad was passed in the 1970s, which makes it illegal for any American company to pay bribes or engage in this type of activity.

 Venezuela, he continues to be a problem for the entire region. “This is a dictatorship that has illegally seized power, has destroyed the country’s economy, has destroyed all the people’s systems and services, the result has been that millions of Venezuelans have fled to neighboring countries and a huge  Humanitarian problem has been created.