US EditionEx-President Martinelli gets Panama’s permission to take asylum in Nicaragua
- On Thursday, March 27, 2025, Panama's Foreign Affairs Minister Javier Martínez-Acha Vásquez announced that ex-President Ricardo Martinelli would be allowed to leave the Nicaraguan embassy in Panama City to travel to Nicaragua for humanitarian reasons.
- Panama moved to arrest Martinelli, who governed from 2009 to 2014 and sought the presidency again in 2023, after his appeals ran out on a money laundering conviction for which he was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison and fined $19 million.
- Martinelli, a 73-year-old businessman and supermarket magnate, has been holed up in the Nicaraguan embassy for more than a year to avoid arrest, maintaining that his prosecution is politically motivated and using social media to advance his agenda.
- According to Martínez-Acha Vásquez, allowing Martinelli to travel to Nicaragua, where he was granted political asylum in February 2024, would enable him to better manage his legal defense and receive medical treatment, noting that "justice’s timeline does not always coincide with health’s timeline."
- Martinelli has until midnight on March 31 to leave Panama, despite Panama's earlier refusal to grant Nicaragua permission to move him, and current President José Raúl Mulino, who Martinelli supported, had discussed the possibility of Martinelli's travel with Nicaragua's ambassador a month prior.
44 Articles
44 Articles
Panama Grants a Safe Conduct to Former President Martinelli to Refuge in Nicaragua · Global Voices
After a year in hiding at the Nicaraguan Embassy in Panama, former President Ricardo Martinelli obtained the approval of the government of his bishop José Raúl Mulino to escape the running of the bull and take refuge in that Central American country for “humanitarian” reasons. “Since the times of justice do not always coincide with the times that health demands, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has decided to recognize asylum,” said Panamanian Fo…
Panama ex-President Martinelli cleared to leave for asylum in Nicaragua
PANAMA CITY - Panama's government has approved safe passage for former President Ricardo Martinelli to travel to Nicaragua, where he has been granted asylum, a top Panamanian official said in a press conference on Thursday.
Associated Press News
Ex-President Martinelli gets Panama's permission to take asylum in Nicaragua
Panama Foreign Affairs Minister Javier Martínez-Acha Vásquez says that Ex-Panama President Ricardo Martinelli will be allowed to leave the Nicaraguan embassy where he’s been holed up for more than a year to travel to Nicaragua.
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