The Colombian authorities stated on Saturday that it had granted asylum to Ricardo Martinelli, a former president of Panama who had been sheltering for greater than a yr within the Nicaraguan embassy in Panama Metropolis to evade a jail sentence for cash laundering.
Colombia’s International Ministry said in a statement that it had granted Mr. Martinelli asylum and organized for him to journey by diplomatic automotive from the Nicaraguan embassy to an area airport to catch a flight to Colombia.
Mr. Martinelli, 73, a businessman who led Panama from 2009 to 2014, said on social media late Saturday that he had arrived in Bogotá, the Colombian capital. He stated he had been granted asylum as a political refugee.
In 2023, Mr. Martinelli was convicted of cash laundering in a case by which prosecutors stated that funds had been obtained from authorities contractors for the 2010 buy of a publishing home. He was sentenced to 10 years in jail and fined $19 million. Panama’s Supreme Courtroom upheld the conviction on attraction.
Mr. Martinelli stated the case was politically motivated.
Nicaragua granted Mr. Martinelli asylum final yr, and he holed up within the nation’s embassy in Panama Metropolis with some furnishings and his canine, Bruno. He initially stated that he intended to campaign in Panama’s Might 2024 presidential election from the embassy.
Two months earlier than the election, Panama’s electoral tribunal disqualified Mr. Martinelli from working due to his sentence within the cash laundering case.
Mr. Martinelli’s working mate, José Raúl Mulino, took his place on the poll and leaned closely on his presidential legacy within the marketing campaign. Mr. Martinelli supported him from contained in the embassy.
Mr. Mulino won the election handily.
