Fate of Martinelli and sons hangs in the balance
WHILE the trial of former president Ricardo Martinelli for illegal wiretapping heads into its 8th day and he continues his daily trumpeting “political persecution” he has other things on his mind — the fate of his two sons detained for over a year in Guatemala Military Prison pending extradition to the United States to face money laundering charges which if proven could earn sentences that would keep them behind bars for much of their lives. Their father on the other hand if found guilty could be sent down for eight years.
The head of mission of the United States Embassy in Panama, Stewart Tuttle, told TVN
his country hopes that the extradition treaty they have with Guatemala, in the case followed by the brothers Luis Enrique and Ricardo Alberto Martinelli, will be fulfilled in all its terms.
The Guatemalan Public Ministry informed TVN Noticias that in the case of Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares he was notified that there is no place for the appeal he presented for his extradition, which continues his process.
Regarding his brother, Ricardo Alberto, the Public Ministry of Guatemala confirms that there are still no notifications of his case
Despite the fact that the Martinelli Linares brothers were detained at the same request from the United States, their proceedings are carried out by different courts in Guatemala.
“The only thing I can say about the Martinelli brothers is that there is a legal case in the United States that is progressing. There is an extradition treaty with Guatemala and we hope that its conditions will be met, “Tuttle said.
In July 2020, at the La Aurora International Airport in Guatemala, the sons were detained at a request from the United States authorities, where they are accused of alleged money laundering, specifically linked to the Odebrecht case. They were trying to leave Guatemala on a private flight, supposedly to Panama
The accusation of the US Department of Justice indicates that the brothers were intermediaries in the payment of $28 million from the Brazilian construction company to a former high-ranking official in the Martinelli administration from 2009 to 2014.
After the apprehension, a series of hearings were held, following the process established by Guatemalan extradition laws, which consist of an administrative and a judicial part and which have been used by their lawyers to avoid their delivery to the US.
Regarding Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Linares, the Public Ministry of Guatemala confirms that there are still no notifications of his case Despite the fact that the Martinelli Linares brothers were detained at the same request from the US, their proceedings are carried out by different courts in Guatemala.
“The only thing I can say about the Martinelli brothers is that there is a ‘legal case in the United States that is progressing. There is an extradition treaty with Guatemala and we hope that its conditions will be met, “Tuttle said.
The brothers were arrested in July 2020, at the La Aurora International Airport in Guatemala, when they were trying to leave Guatemala on a private flight, supposedly to Panama.
At the beginning of July of this year, there was an alleged attempted escape by the brothers after which the authorities tightened security.
