PANAMA CITY (AP) 鈥� Former Panama President Ricardo Martinelli will be allowed to leave the Nicaraguan embassy where he鈥檚 been holed up for more than a year to travel to Nicaragua for humanitarian reasons, Panama Foreign Affairs Minister Javier Mart铆nez-Acha V谩squez said Thursday.
Martinelli has been in Panama since Panama moved to arrest him after his appeals ran out on his . The 73-year-old former leader maintains that his prosecution has been politically motivated as he sought to run for a second term in office.
Mart铆nez-Acha V谩squez said that by leaving the embassy and going to Nicaragua, Martinelli would be able to manage his legal defense under better conditions and receive medical treatment for unspecified issues.
鈥淕iven that justice鈥檚 timeline does not always coincide with health鈥檚 timeline, the Foreign Relations Ministry has decided to recognize the asylum granted to Mr. Martinelli Berrocal by the Nicaraguan government,鈥� the foreign affairs minister said.
Martinelli has until midnight on March 31 to leave Panama.
Martinelli is a businessman and supermarket magnate who governed Panama from 2009 to 2014.
In 2023, he won his party鈥檚 nomination to seek the presidency again. However, he was convicted of money laundering and sentenced to more than 10 years in prison and fined $19 million.
Once the Supreme Court denied his appeal, he was ineligible to run.
Ultimately Martinelli supported his running mate, current President Jos茅 Ra煤l Mulino. At the time, Mulino said that Martinelli would remain on the ballot and return to Panama once he had won.
Mulino said a month ago that he was going to meet with Nicaragua鈥檚 new ambassador to Panama and that permission for Martinelli to travel to Nicaragua was among the issues they would discuss.
Nicaragua granted Martinelli political asylum in February 2024. Panama had refused to grant Nicaragua permission to move Martinelli to Nicaragua. So Martinelli using social media to advance his agenda during last year鈥檚 presidential campaign.
Just before Thursday's announcement, Martinelli posted a video to Instagram in which he said that a special police force had surrounded the embassy and was checking everyone who entered. It was later reposted to X.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if they want to assault the embassy. I don鈥檛 know if they want to do something improper to me and I don鈥檛 know the reasons,鈥� Martinelli said.
But an AP journalist outside the embassy saw only two police pickup trucks with fewer than a dozen normal police officers in them.
In a separate video published by the local newspaper La Prensa, Martinelli said he was with his dog Bruno and his lawyers analyzing the government鈥檚 announcement, which he described as a surprise. He reiterated his innocence.
The government did not immediately respond to a request to explain what the process for Martinelli鈥檚 departure would be.
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Alma Sol铆s, The Associated Press
