The privileged life of the Martinelli sons in a misnamed prison for the wealthy
Ricardo Alberto and Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares, sons of former president Ricardo Martinelli are in a New York Federal prison awaiting sentencing in May, after being extradited from Guatemala to the United States.
The brothers pleaded guilty to money laundering and prosecutors have asked for jail terms more than 15 years while the defense asked the judge to recognize in their sentence the time they spent deprived of liberty in the ‘Mariscal Zavala’ prison in Guatemala.
Luis Enrique Martinelli, “Kike”, was detained in Guatemala from July 6, 2020 to November 15, 2021, that is, about 16 months. His older brother, Ricardo Alberto, “Rica”, spent almost an additional month in Guatemala, and was transferred on December 11.
In May, each one, separately, will know his sentence, after having confessed their participation in a money-laundering scheme through which millions of dollars received as bribes from the contractor Odebrecht were laundered in the years in which their father was President of Panama.
Prosecutors have requested a sentence of more than fifteen years for each. The lawyers representing the brothers argue that they should not receive more than two years in prison and that the time they have already spent in detention (16 and 17 months in Guatemala, plus the four or five months they have been in New York) are recognized. In other words, they would already be released.
The defense attorneys, in pleading for a more lenient sentence, have slipped in an argument to take into account the harsh conditions that inmates normally go through in Central Amercan prisons, known for their overcrowding and violence, in centers mixed with gang members, drug traffickers and highly dangerous detainees.
But, was not the experience of the sons, while delaying the extradition process with an infinity of legal resources, extending a process that normally takes between six and eight months, to twice as long reports La Prensa.
An investigation carried out by this medium, together with journalists and a dozen sources, reveals another reality.
After fighting against extradition, delaying the hearings, and even seeing how the Guatemalan authorities seize the family’s private plane after an escape attempt foiled, they were extradited to the United States, but not before making it clear that In Latin America, not all prisons are the same, nor is it that all prisoners are treated the same.
The military complex, which houses the misnamed “Marshal Zavala Prison”, is today a military operations center, the residence of the Minister of Defense, an explosives warehouse, the military chaplaincy, and a training center with a landing strip.
A tour inside the prison that shows the privileges of ‘high profile’ inmates and social status”, headlined the newspaper Prensa Libre of Guatemala in a report dated February 21.
“The prison offers comfort, luxury, and privacy but only for those who can afford it,” says the article, explaining that originally the military complex had ceded space to the Ministry of the Interior to install a “maximum security prison” within its perimeter.
This space ended up being an oasis for white-collar criminals, politicians, and prisoners with high purchasing power where the brothers for $25,000 a month each could bring in a designer from Miami to remodel their extensive quarters, and order liquor. Wines and food from local restaurants, party with visitors, and even have access to prostitutes
If they receive the sentences requested by prosecutors life behind bars will not be the same.
