Nicaragua granted this Wednesday Asylum to former Panamanian President Ricardo MartinelliDays after he lost that as a last resort, the annulment of an almost eleven-year prison sentence because of money laundering.
Martinelli “applied for asylum at the Embassy of the Republic of Nicaragua in Panama because he felt he was being persecuted for political reasons and was in danger,” according to a statement from Managua’s Foreign Ministry to Panama, adding that the government of President Daniel Ortega decided to grant him asylum.
The note, read to the press in Managua by Ortega’s vice president and wife, Rosario Murillo, calls on the Panamanian authorities to “provide assurances for the immediate departure and humanitarian transfer of asylum seeker Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Berrocal to the territory of the Republic of Nicaragua.” give.” “.
The former right-wing president (2009-2014) began his campaign for the May 5 presidential election on Saturday, a day after the Supreme Court published the ruling rejecting his final appeal to overturn his prison sentence.
Managua has granted asylum to other former Central American presidents and high-ranking officials who have problems with the justice system, including former leftist Salvadoran leaders Mauricio Funes (2009–2014) and Salvador Sánchez Cerén (2014–2019).
According to the Supreme Court’s ruling, the electoral court must formalize its exclusion from the presidential race. The verdict against Martinelli should become final this Friday, which would allow the Panamanian judiciary to order his arrest. AFP