News
Wednesday 2nd April 2025.
April 1, 2025
On Monday, March 31, the day the safe-conduct permit granted to him by the Panamanian government to travel to Nicaragua expired, Ricardo Martinelli prepared for what appeared to be his final departure to the country that had granted him political asylum since February 7, 2024.
Dressed in a dark suit and a cap with the phrase ” I’ll be back,” the former president took photos with his legal team in a room at the Nicaraguan embassy, located in La Alameda.
His lawyers Roniel Ortiz , Shirley Castañeda, also a deputy of Realizando Metas, and Jessica Canto, among others, toasted with Moët & Chandon champagne while relatives loaded suitcases into 4×4 vehicles headed to Marcos A. Gelabert Airport, in Albrook, the air terminal from where the former president and his entourage would supposedly depart.
The travel list was finalized. Traveling to Managua would be the Nicaraguan ambassador to Panama, Jessica Padilla Leiva ; lawyers Canto and Castañeda ; as well as Roniel Ortiz and Alfredo Vallarino ; and Luis Eduardo Camacho. Martinelli’s pet dog, Bruno, was also in the entourage.
But the plane never took off. Nicaraguan co-president Rosario Murillo declared on a Nicaraguan television channel mid-afternoon on Monday that she would not receive Martinelli until the situation was clarified with an Interpol red alert. In passing, she accused the government of José Raúl Mulino of hostile behavior and of blocking Nicaragua’s participation in the General Secretariat of the Central American Integration System (SICA).
Murillo criticized the actions of the Panamanian authorities, who granted Martinelli safe passage and subsequently requested the issuance of an international red alert. “This contradictory behavior seems like a legal trap intended to foster complicity and disloyalty that are unrelated to political behavior consistent with international conventions,” he added.
According to lawyer Rodrigo Noriega, Murillo’s diplomatic maneuver has put an explicit price on former President Ricardo Martinelli’s territorial asylum. This tactic is common in negotiations with countries like Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua itself— a “what’s in it for me?” in the international arena . The ambush is not directed against former President Martinelli, as the statement suggests, but against President José Raúl Mulino.
Meanwhile, internationalist Euclides Tapia wrote: “Given the current dynamics and the political strain resulting from the Secretary General’s situation, the most pragmatic alternative for Nicaragua, instead of using asylum for former President Ricardo Martinelli to try to blackmail Panama into voting for its candidate, would be to opt for a partial withdrawal, focusing primarily on the political and governance bodies.”
The conflict began on Sunday, March 30, when Jaime Fernández , director of the National Police, announced that he had received an Interpol alert against Martinelli, requested by Judge Baloisa Marquínez, who handled the New Business case. This case resulted in a sentence of more than 10 years in prison for the former president for money laundering. The news generated an immediate exchange of statements between the governments of Panama and Nicaragua.
Although the Panamanian Foreign Ministry insisted that the safe-conduct permit was still valid and that no Interpol alert could prevent the trip, the National Police issued a new statement that same night: the red alert request had been rejected because Martinelli had already been granted political asylum by Nicaragua.
Martinelli faces two arrest warrants issued by Judge Baloisa Marquínez: one for the New Business case and another for money laundering through bribes paid by the Odebrecht company.
After 7:00 p.m., the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it had extended Martinelli’s safe conduct permit for 72 hours.
In a statement, the ministry reported that ” the Government of the Republic of Nicaragua has requested clarification regarding an apparent alert issued by Interpol, which was rejected as inadmissible under Article 2 of the Interpol Statute .”
At the same time, the Supreme Court of Justice informed Foreign Minister Javier Martínez Acha that it had no comments on the asylum and safe conduct granted to the former president of the Republic, given that this is a power of the Executive Branch, separate from the judiciary. The note bears the signature of the Court’s Chief Justice, María Eugenia López.
“Taking into account unforeseen causes and the need to have a reasonable period of time for the execution of the transfer, the National Government has decided to extend the validity of the safe conduct for an additional period of seventy-two (72) hours, until the end of the day on Thursday, April 3, 2025,” the press release reads.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) charged 16 people in eight investigations related to the crimes of fraud and swindling against the Institute for the Training and Utilization of Human Resources (Ifarhu) through the creation of false profiles and the changing of PIN numbers of beneficiaries of the Universal Educational Social Assistance Program (PASE-U) .
Sources revealed that there are currently two ongoing investigations related to the irregular collection of PASE-U benefits, in which third parties collected student benefits by modifying the student’s personal identification number (PIN).
According to the MP’s investigations, the irregularities detected caused a patrimonial loss to Ifarhu of approximately $100,000 , leaving hundreds of students without the collection of these benefits.
On February 24, the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office sentenced five people to 48 and 60 months in prison for fraud and other crimes related to the collection of the PASE-U (Pass-U) tax.
During the investigation, the prosecutor’s office determined the existence of a pattern to breach PIN security and steal funds intended for program beneficiaries.
Those sanctioned were also ordered to pay $129,000 in compensation to the Panamanian State, a sum that must be deposited into the National Treasury account.
In one of the investigations conducted by the prosecutor’s office, it was discovered that an Ifarhu official made seven PIN changes to the accounts of PASE-U beneficiaries.
It was also found that, after the modifications, the accounts were used to make purchases at various local businesses.
In March 2024, an error in the PASE-U system caused a double payment of the benefit, allowing students who weren’t supposed to receive it to collect it.
The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office is also conducting investigations into acts of corruption and the irregular use of IFARHU funds in the provision of financial aid.
The prosecutor’s office has analyzed approximately 1,500 files related to financial aid and the criteria used to grant it by IFARHU.
The investigation has reached the former director of Ifarhu, Bernardo Meneses , who was scheduled to appear at an impeachment hearing on December 12, 2024. However, the hearing was suspended following the filing of a constitutional protection order.
The MP’s injunction is against the decision made by Judge Lizeth Quintero in a hearing on violation of rights held on December 4, 2024, which was requested by Meneses’s defense, who alleged an alleged violation of his fundamental rights due to property damage.
In the last 10 years , Ifarhu has distributed $421.4 million in economic aid and other educational programs during the administrations of Presidents Juan Carlos Varela (2014-2019) and Laurentino Cortizo (2019-2024) .
Many of these grants were awarded to public officials, relatives of ministers, deputies, diplomats, government suppliers, and members of the Democratic Revolutionary Party. Recipients with no apparent financial need were also identified.
The period for submitting opinions on the constitutional challenge filed against the contract signed between the State and the Panama Ports Company for the operation of the ports of Balboa and Cristóbal has concluded.
Sources from the Judicial Branch (OJ) revealed that five lawyers submitted opinions to the Supreme Court of Justice regarding the viability of the lawsuit filed by attorneys Julio Fidel Macías and Norman Castro.
Now, Judge Angela Russo , who acts as rapporteur, must prepare a draft ruling and circulate it to the remaining eight judges who make up the Court’s Plenary.
On February 19, Attorney General Luis Carlos Gómez estimated—and stated this in a fiscal hearing—that the contract signed between the State and Panama Ports violates 15 articles of the Constitution .
Among the arguments presented by Gómez is the fact that, when negotiating the contract, it was improperly agreed to transfer private rights belonging to the State, impacting social welfare and the public interest, thereby affecting free competition, and that, in addition, it allows the company to exploit areas other than those granted.
The lawsuit alleges that the contract signed between PPC and the State violated Articles 1 and 2 of the Constitution , as it stipulates that the State must consult with and seek prior approval from the company before granting any future concession on State-owned land.
It also argues that the above violates the sovereignty exercised by the Panamanian State over its entire territory and its property, which can only be subject to its Government and should not require the prior consent or approval of any private entity.
The Third Chamber of the Court is also processing a petition to annul the extension granted to PPC for the operation of the ports of Balboa and Cristóbal.
The nullity claim , filed by Roberto Ruiz Díaz , seeks to have notes ADM-1123–062021-DGPIMA-CON of June 28, 2021, and certification SG No. 021-062021, also of June 28, 2021, issued by the AMP , in which the automatic extension for the operation of the ports of Balboa and Cristóbal was granted to PPC for a period of 25 years, declared null and void.
The Comptroller General’s Office also ordered an audit of the operations and payments made by PPC following the contract awarded to operate both ports.
The audit of PPC seeks to evaluate the proper management of resources and verify compliance with the terms of the concession, a contract questioned due to the lack of clarity regarding the benefits it generates for the State.
In 2020, an audit conducted by then-Comptroller Gerardo Solís found that PPC had complied with all the standards established in the contract signed in 1997.
The creation of two new free trade zones was approved this Tuesday, April 1, by the Cabinet Council as part of efforts to reactivate the economy, investment, and job creation.
The Presidency of the Republic announced that the first free trade zone will be located at kilometer 29 of the Transístmica Highway, in the Chagres sector of the Colón province.
The free zone will cover 6.9 hectares and will be privately owned. It will also focus on industrial and logistics infrastructure, especially for the cold chain. According to the Executive Branch, this infrastructure will generate nearly 1,400 direct and indirect jobs.
Trade Minister Julio Moltó said at a press conference that this zone will have an initial investment of $5.9 million.
On the other hand, it was reported that the second free zone will be on a 3.3-hectare plot on Ascanio Arosemena Avenue, in the Curundú district.
This free zone will be focused on logistics and is projected to create more than 370 direct and indirect jobs.
“It’s an area dedicated to logistics, and already has a letter of intent from a port company that transports containers,” Moltó said.
He added that the initial investment will be $585,000 and, subsequently, $1.9 million, for a total of $2.5 million.
Free trade zones provide tax and customs incentives, among others, to attract investment.
The Public Ministry reported this Tuesday, April 1, the seizure of at least 800 packages of drugs in the waters of the Darien province .
The operation was coordinated between the Darién Drug Prosecutor’s Office and agents from the National Border Service (Senafront).
According to the preliminary report from authorities, a total of 875 packages of drugs, distributed in 35 sacks, were thrown into the sea by people on a boat who fled to Colombia after detecting the presence of SENAFRONT agents.