Eldest son of Ricardo Martinelli faces extradition hearing Friday

Ricardo Alberto “Rica” Martinelli Linares, eldest son of former Panama president  Ricardo Martinelli will appear before a Guatemala judge on Friday, July 10 for his extradition hearing to the United States.

The date for the extradition hearing of his  brother Luis Enrique “Quique”  Linares has not yet been set.

The brothers were arrested in Guatemala, on Monday, at the request of the United States, which requests their extradition to face money laundering charges linked to Odebrecht after an FBI investigation.

The United States has between 40 and 90 days to support the extradition request, meanwhile, the brothers remain in preventive fetention in the  Mariscal Zavala military prison.

Their lawyers claim that both are alternate deputies of the Central American Parliament ( Parlacen ), and therefore enjoy diplomatic immunity.

Parlacen has not formally ruled onn this , but its vice president Gilberto Sucari reported that Ricardo Alberto and Luis Enrique have not been sworn in.

The brothers were carrying passports from Parlacen when they were captured at La Aurora airport, where they intended to board their father’s private plane to Panama. They also carried regular  Panamanian passports, four cell phones, and large amounts of cash in dollars, euros, and other currencies.

The Panama Passport Authority (APAP) said on  Wednesday that the ordinary passports of both were renewed at the beginning of the year, at the Panama Consulate in Miami. “They do not have diplomatic passports issued by the Republic of Panama,” says the APAP.