The former president of Panama, Ricardo Martinellithanked the President of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortegafor him “noble and selfless gesture” to give him asylum in the Nicaraguan embassy. “I especially thank and thank you for the noble and selfless gesture that I will never forget, to the President of Nicaragua, Commander Daniel Ortega, and to Doña Rosario Murillo, his wife and VP.”Martinelli said.
Martinelli indicated that he appreciates “also to the Nicaraguan ambassador in Panama, Doña Consuelo Sandoval Meza, and her husband, Don Ernesto, and another anonymous being”, which he does not identify.
I never thought I would turn 72 today. I thank God and all my family.
I especially thank and thank you for the noble and selfless gesture that I will never forget, to the President of Nicaragua, Commander Daniel Ortega, and to Doña Rosario Murillo, his wife…— Ricardo Martinelli (@rmartinelli) March 11, 2024
Last March 5, Martinelli saw his aspirations to return to power in Panama cut short, after the Electoral Tribunal (TE) announced his disqualification as a presidential candidate for the May 5 elections, in which he started as a favorite, after receiving the final sentence that sentenced the politician to more than 10 years in prison for money laundering.
The TE also resolved that on the voting ballot in the elections for president, in the box for the Realizing Goals parties and the Alianza party, his running mate José Raúl Mulino appears as “candidate for president sin vice president”, thus clearing up doubts about Martinelli’s replacement.
The sentence, which sentences the former president to 10 years and 6 months in prison and a fine of 19.2 million dollars for the crime of money laundering, is for the case “New Business”, a complex plot to irregularly purchase with public funds the Editorial Panamá América SA (Epasa) that publishes three newspapers.
That sentence became final on February 2 after the last appeal seeking to annul it was rejected. Days later, on February 7, Martinelli sought refuge in the Nicaraguan embassy, alleging that they wanted to assassinate him and that the conviction against him was political persecution to prevent him from participating in the elections as a presidential candidate with his Realizing Goals (RM) party. .
Martinelli said he is “I am alive by a miracle and thanks to a group of lawyers who managed to detect a plot of political hatred and envy led by a political-economic system that, in addition to politically disqualifying me,”. “We have evidence that they not only wanted in this case fabricated and invented politically, of which I am INNOCENT but it was to physically destroy me by taking my life, faking a suicide or stabbing in the most dangerous prison in Sector 3 of the Nueva Joya confined 24/7”, he assured.
Even so, Martinelli stated that far from harming him with the disqualification in a “rigged political process (…) the more they will inflame the people and help JR Mulino @JoseRaulMulino win and sweep the remaining 53 days with more votes in May”. The former president stated that on May 5 they will win “widely“and that he wants a new trial to be held”impartial” to prove his innocence.
Martinelli was acquitted twice in the case known as “Punctures” (illegal eavesdropping), but he still has to face Odebrecht’s trial for money laundering with his two children. In Spain he is also being investigated for alleged corruption for bribes that the Spanish construction company FCC confessed to having paid in Panama, and also for the alleged espionage of a woman on the island of Mallorca.
*With information from EFE
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2024-03-12 21:25:17