Convicted ex-Panama president Martinelli granted asylum in Colombia
By AFP
PublishedMay 11, 2025
Former Panama president Ricardo Martinelli announced his arrival on Saturday in Colombia, where he has been granted asylum after spending 15 months at the Nicaraguan embassy to avoid a prison sentence for money laundering.
The Panama government “granted the necessary safe conduct” for the “safe departure of the asylum seeker, Panamanian citizen Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Berrocal” to Colombia, which granted him asylum, Panama’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
Martinelli posted a photo of himself on Instagram late Saturday, writing that he was “happy and content” to be in the Colombian capital Bogota.
Martinelli, an ally of right-wing President Jose Raul Mulino, was sentenced to almost 11 years in prison in 2023 for money laundering, though he claims he is the victim of political persecution.
The 73-year-old supermarket tycoon, who was president from 2009 to 2014, was convicted of using stolen public money to buy a stake in a publishing house.
More:
https://www.digitaljournal.com/world/convicted-ex-panama-president-martinelli-granted-asylum-in-colombia/article
Martinelli, during his tycoon days
Trump and Martinelli opening a Trump property in Panama together years ago
Martinelli and son, with ol' pal Silvio Berlusconi in Italy, where Martinelli went after fleeing Panama as soon as the government went after him to put him in prison.
2025 Martinelli finds asylum in Colombia
