Former Panamanian president Martinelli leaves Nicaraguan embassy for asylum in Colombia

PANAMA CITY Panama AP Former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli left the Nicaraguan embassy in Panama City where he had sought refuge more than a year ago after the courts upheld a money laundering sentence against him and headed to Colombia where he has received political asylum the cabinet mentioned late Saturday Panama s foreign ministry explained in a declaration that Colombian President Gustavo Petro sent Panamanian President Jos Ra l Mulino a formal note saying that he had granted Martinelli asylum and that Panama had granted the former president safe passage to Colombia The Republic of Colombia is a State that has historically recognized with the utmost respect compliance and promotion the institutions of International Law including the asylum system within the Inter-American system the announcement mentioned Martinelli was sentenced to years in prison for money laundering in July in connection with the purchase of a publishing group Following the confirmation of that sentence the former president sought refuge in the Nicaraguan diplomatic mission in Panama after President Daniel Ortega s cabinet granted him asylum He had remained inside the embassy for more than a year Martinelli is a businessman and supermarket magnate who governed Panama from to a period of rapid economic increase driven by the construction of major projects such as the first metro in Central America and the expansion of the interoceanic canal But his cabinet was tainted by accusations of bribery and cost overruns He was sanctioned by the United States for corruption in January Martinelli maintains that his prosecution was politically motivated as he sought to run for a second term of office In he won his party s nomination to seek the presidency again However he was convicted of money laundering and after the Supreme Court denied his appeal he was ineligible to run Ultimately Martinelli supported his running mate current President Mulino Nicaragua granted Martinelli political asylum in February Panama had refused to grant Nicaragua permission to move Martinelli to Nicaragua The Colombian governing body had not previously commented on the matter