Former Panamanian president Ricardo Martinelli granted political asylum in Nicaragua – Winnipeg Free Press

PANAMA CITY (AP) — Former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli has been granted political asylum in Nicaragua after Panama's Supreme Court rejected an appeal of his 10-year prison sentence for money laundering.

Martinelli's lawyer, Shirley Castañeda, said Wednesday outside the Nicaraguan embassy that “he has been granted political asylum.” When asked why Martinelli asked for asylum, he answered “because his life was in danger.”

Nicaragua's Foreign Ministry confirmed in a statement Wednesday that Martinelli had been granted asylum. In it, Martinelli said he sought asylum because of political persecution and an imminent threat to his life. He called on the Panamanian government to allow him to leave for Nicaragua as soon as possible, and the Panamanian Foreign Ministry acknowledged that it had consulted Nicaragua.

Martinelli, the 71-year-old businessman and supermarket tycoon who ruled Panama from 2009 to 2014, wrote in a letter released by his team and confirmed as authentic that political persecution forced him to seek asylum in Nicaragua.

Asylum was necessary “to protect myself from lack of legal protection, injustice and personal safety,” Martinelli wrote.

He also urged his followers to support his candidate, José Raúl Mulino, in the May 5 presidential election, saying he would be with Mulino from day one.

At a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Mulino said Martinelli and his wife would remain on the ballot and Martinelli would return to Panama after they were elected.

On Friday, the Supreme Court rejected Martinelli's latest appeal against his money-laundering conviction. If the conviction and sentence were upheld, Martinelli would not be able to run for president.

On Saturday, Martinelli held a rally in Panama's capital, saying he would still run in the country's May 5 election and pleaded not guilty to any crime. However, when Martinelli spoke to Congress on Monday, he said that the current president, Laurentino Cortizo, wants to imprison him and even kill him, and that he is about to be arrested soon.

Martinelli's spokesman, Luis Eduardo Camacho, said Martinelli will remain at the Nicaraguan embassy in Panama until he can safely travel to Nicaragua.

Martinelli was chosen by his party as the presidential candidate last June. He was one of eight candidates running for the presidency.

Article 180 of the country's constitution states that no one who has been sentenced to five or more years for a crime can be elected president or vice president.

Martinelli was convicted last July of money laundering in a case that began in 2017 and related to his 2010 purchase of a publishing company that owns national newspapers.

Prosecutors say companies that won lucrative government contracts during Martinelli's presidency funneled money to a predecessor company that was then used to buy the publisher. The transactions involved a complex series of foreign remittances totaling up to $43 million. The previous fundraising company was called New Business.

Martinelli was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison and fined $19 million. He denied any wrongdoing and claimed to be a victim of political persecution. The Court of Appeal upheld the sentence in October.

Martinelli, a populist who oversaw the country's massive infrastructure projects, including the construction of the capital's first metro line, is the first former president to be convicted of a crime in Panama.

Last year, the United States government banned Martinelli and his immediate family from entering the country over what it called “significant” corruption.

Martinelli was not the first ex-president to flee the law and land in Nicaragua. The administration of President Daniel Ortega granted citizenship to former President Mauricio Funes in 2019. He has been granted political asylum in the country since 2016 and faces charges of illicit enrichment and embezzlement in El Salvador.

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