Ricardo Martinelli was convicted of money laundering in his native Panama and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The Panama government approved a safe passage by former president Ricardo Martinelli, who fought for former President Ricardo Martinelli to set out for Nicaragua after facing prison for money laundering.
Foreign Minister Javier Martinez Chaca Vazquez announced Thursday that Martinelli will be allowed to leave, citing concerns about the former president’s health.
Martinelli had previously been granted exile by Nicaragua, and has avoided arrest by evacuating at the country’s embassy in Panama City.
The Panama Foreign Minister declined to mention details of the health concerns Martinelli faced.
“Given that the timeline of justice does not always align with the timeline of health, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has decided to grant the asylum granted by the Nicaraguan government to Martinelli Belocal,” Martinez Chaca Vasquez said.
“This asylum is recognized and safe conduct is permitted on strictly humane reasons.”
Martinelli, 73, has exhausted all appeals in his case after being sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2023 for money laundering. He also received a $100 million fine for the incident.
This belief put an end to Martinelli’s political career. Last year, the Panama election court ruled that he could not run that year’s presidential election.
The Panama Constitution holds offices where anyone has been sentenced to more than five years of criminal penalty. But before the verdict, Martinelli was considered the front line of the race.
Martinelli has always maintained his innocence. However, prosecutors claimed that he used his influence as president from 2009 to 2014 to award government contracts to businesses, and then funding to an organization called “new business.”
Prosecutors argued that the company was at the forefront. And they said that Martinelli used it to buy a publishing business that manages newspapers around the country.
The “New Business” scandal was one of several controversies Martinelli faced after taking office.
He and his two sons, Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares and Ricardo Martinelli Linares, are accused of being involved in the Odebrecht Scandal, an international corruption incident that struck leaders of several Latin American countries.
Former supermarket entrepreneur and popular right-wing figure, Martinelli stayed at the Nicaraguan embassy since February 2024, using social media to communicate with his supporters.
Panama has been denying his request to leave the country until Thursday. However, after being led by the announcement that Panama’s Foreign Minister would be allowed to leave, Martinelli expressed concern that he might be intercepted by the country’s police.
“They have to plot against me with having an alpha unit of the National Police outside the Nicaraguan embassy,” he wrote Thursday on social media platform X.
Martinelli will have to leave until midnight on March 31st.
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