Ricardo Martinelli will be sent to Nicaragua – Mulino Government Grants him Safe Conduct
PANAMA CITY: Ex-Panama President Ricardo Martinelli will be allowed to leave the Nicaraguan embassy where he’s been holed up for more than a year to travel to Nicaragua for humanitarian reasons, Panama Foreign Affairs Minister Javier Martínez-Acha Vásquez said Thursday. According to the Foreign Ministry, Ricardo Martinelli is being granted this safe conduct for humanitarian reasons. Martinelli will now calculate his next move after the safe conduct grant. Ricardo Martinelli’s Defense Team is evaluating the Government’s Safe Conduct Permit. Alejandro Pérez his lawyer on Martinelli’s safe conduct: “It was a surprise for everyone.” The Vamos party rejects Martinelli’s safe conduct; accuses the government of granting impunity.
Martinelli denounced that he has been the subject of political condemnation and reiterated his complete innocence, asserting that he has been politically persecuted. The National Government granted safe passage to former President Ricardo Martinelli, who remains in asylum at the Nicaraguan embassy. This decision accepts that the former president is a “politically persecuted person.” According to the Foreign Ministry, Martinelli is being granted this safe conduct for humanitarian reasons, as it would allow the former president to continue his defense under more favorable conditions than the current ones, such as free access to outpatient treatment that would improve his quality of life.
The safe conduct permit is granted starting today, March 27, and is valid for a non-extendable period, ending at midnight on March 31 of this year. Martinelli has been inside Nicaragua’s embassy in Panama since Panama moved to arrest him after his appeals ran out on his money laundering conviction. The 73-year-old former leader maintains that his prosecution has been politically motivated as he sought to run for a second term in office.
Daniel Ortega, President of Nicaragua and former President of Panama, Ricardo Martinelli.
Martínez-Acha Vásquez said that by leaving the embassy and going to Nicaragua, Martinelli would be able to manage his legal defense under better conditions and receive medical treatment for unspecified issues. “Given that justice’s timeline does not always coincide with health’s timeline, the Foreign Relations Ministry has decided to recognize the asylum granted to Mr. Martinelli Berrocal by the Nicaraguan government,” the foreign affairs minister said. Martinelli has until midnight on March 31 to leave Panama. Martinelli is a businessman and supermarket magnate who governed Panama from 2009 to 2014.
