Former Panamanian president Martinelli leaves Nicaraguan embassy for asylum in Colombia

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PANAMA CITY, Panama (AP) — Former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli left the Nicaraguan embassy in Panama City where he had sought refuge more than a year ago after the courts upheld a money laundering sentence against him and headed to Colombia where he has received political asylum, the government said late Saturday.

Panama’s foreign ministry said in a statement that Colombian President Gustavo Petro sent Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino a formal note saying that he had granted Martinelli asylum and that Panama had granted the former president safe passage to Colombia.

“The Republic of Colombia is a State that has historically recognized with the utmost respect, compliance, and promotion the institutions of International Law, including the asylum system within the Inter-American system,” the statement said.

Martinelli, 73, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for money laundering in July 2023 in connection with the purchase of a publishing group. Following the confirmation of that sentence, the former president sought refuge in the Nicaraguan diplomatic mission in Panama after President Daniel Ortega's government granted him asylum. He had remained inside the embassy for more than a year.

Martinelli is a businessman and supermarket magnate who governed Panama from 2009 to 2014, a period of rapid economic growth driven by the construction of major projects such as the first metro in Central America and the expansion of the interoceanic canal. But his government was tainted by accusations of bribery and cost overruns. He was sanctioned by the United States for corruption in January 2023.

Martinelli maintains that his prosecution was politically motivated as he sought to run for a second term of office.

In 2023, he won his party’s nomination to seek the presidency again. However, he was convicted of money laundering, and after the Supreme Court denied his appeal, he was ineligible to run.

Ultimately, Martinelli supported his running mate, current President Mulino.

Nicaragua granted Martinelli political asylum in February 2024. Panama had refused to grant Nicaragua permission to move Martinelli to Nicaragua.

The Colombian government had not previously commented on the matter.