Ricardo Martinelli’s Private Plane is heading to Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago
Nicaragua continues to block Martinelli’s entry into its territory, and authorities are working on activating a Plan B seeking a third country. The extension of the safe-conduct permit that allows the former president to leave the country, expired Thursday. The private plane of the former President of Panama, Ricardo Martinelli, departed Thursday afternoon from Marcos A Airport Gelabert in Panama City to Miami, USA. On board were several deputies from the bench of Realizing Goals (RM), collective chaired by Martinelli. It was unofficially learned that they are heading to the Mar-A-Lago complex, the private residence of US President Donald Trump, where a meeting was to be held last night along with a gala party gathering that had been previously planned.
A group of representatives from the Realizing Goals (RM) party participated this Thursday in the American Patriots Gala at Mar-a-Lago, United States. Earlier, Representative Luis Eduardo Camacho clarified that this trip had nothing to do with the situation of former President Ricardo Martinelli as it had been planned previously.
President José Raúl Mulino stated this Thursday that Nicaragua “has not asked for anything” to grant political asylum to former President Ricardo Martinelli, thus denying any “blackmail” by Nicaraguan co-president Rosario Murillo. A few days ago, Murillo accused Panama of blocking the election of the former Nicaraguan foreign minister as the new secretary general of the Central American Integration System (SICA). In this regard, Mulino explained that the vote for the SICA president took place at the end of last year, and Panama, along with other countries in the region, voted against the proposal. However, he stated that this did not imply a blockade of Nicaragua and urged them to present new lists. “We don’t support the motion at this time, as can happen in any international forum. And in Central America, consensus is used, which is a reverse veto,” Mulino said. According to the president, the recognized asylum generates a safe-conduct permit, which then leads to territorial asylum for Martinelli. He added that asylum was not defined by Panama, but rather it is up to the isolating state to decide whether or not it is political. Since the safe-conduct was issued, the Nicaraguan government has formally requested information from Interpol and Supreme Court documents, which have been provided, Mulino explained. The head of the Executive also stated that Nicaragua has not yet made a decision regarding Martinelli’s transfer, which prevents Martinelli from flying there, as this must be done in accordance with international law.
