Panama Approves Embattled Ex-President Martinelli’s Passage to Nicaragua

Panama’s government has approved safe passage for embattled former President Ricardo Martinelli to leave the country for Nicaragua, after facing prison for money laundering.  Foreign Affairs Minister Javier Martinez-Acha Vasquez announced on Thursday that Martinelli would be allowed to leave, citing concerns about the former president’s health.  Martinelli had previously been granted asylum by Nicaragua, and he has been avoiding arrest by sheltering in the country’s embassy in Panama City.  Panama’s foreign minister declined to mention specifics about the health concerns Martinelli faces.  “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,” Martinez-Acha Vasquez said. Martinelli will be traveling on a private flight to Nicaragua, accompanied by his family and a group of Nicaraguan diplomats, as dictated by the Montevideo Political Asylum Convention. It’s worth remembering that the safe-conduct pass issued by the Panamanian Foreign Ministry expires at midnight on Monday, March 31.

“This asylum is recognized and the safe conduct is granted for strictly humanitarian reasons.”  Martinelli, 73, has exhausted all appeals in his case after being sentenced in 2023 to 10 years in prison for money laundering. He also received a $19m fine in the case.  The conviction led to an end to Martinelli’s political career. Last year, Panama’s Electoral Tribunal ruled he could not run in that year’s presidential race.  Panama’s constitution bars anyone with a criminal sentence of five years or more from holding elected office. Prior to the ruling, however, Martinelli was considered a frontrunner in the race.  Martinelli has always maintained his innocence. 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. But prosecutors successfully argued that he used his influence as president, from 2009 to 2014, to award government contracts to companies that then funneled money to an organization called “New Business”.

Ultimately Martinelli supported his running mate, current President José Raúl Mulino. At the time, Mulino said that Martinelli would remain on the ballot and return to Panama once he had won.  Mulino said a month ago that he was going to meet with Nicaragua’s new ambassador to Panama and that permission for Martinelli to travel to Nicaragua was among the issues they would discuss.  Nicaragua granted Martinelli political asylum in February 2024. Panama had refused to grant Nicaragua permission to move Martinelli to Nicaragua. So Martinelli stayed in the political mix using social media to advance his agenda during last year’s presidential campaign.  Just before Thursday’s announcement, Martinelli posted a video to Instagram in which he said that a special police force had surrounded the embassy and was checking everyone who entered. It was later reposted to X.  “I don’t know if they want to assault the embassy. I don’t know if they want to do something improper to me and I don’t know the reasons,” Martinelli said.  Martinelli is a businessman and supermarket magnate who governed Panama from 2009 to 2014. It has been said that he needs to leave the country before April 1st as part of his safe passage.  We assume that Bruno the dog will also be allowed to leave Panama and enter Nicaragua.