Panama: Colombia Grants Asylum to Ex-President Martinelli
Ricardo Martinelli has been held up in the Nicaragua embassy for over a year
Former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli greets his supporters from inside the Nicaraguan Embassy in Panama on April 2, 2025. // Photo: EFE/Bienvenido Velasco
The former president left the Nicaraguan Embassy in Panama after months of diplomatic tension and traveled to Colombia
HAVANA TIMES – The Colombian government has confirmed that it granted political asylum to former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli (2009–2014), who traveled to that country on Saturday, May 10, 2025.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs informs that the President Gustavo Petro has granted political asylum to the former president of Panama, Ricardo Alberto Martinelli, a decision that was duly communicated to the government of the neighboring country,” stated the Colombian Foreign Ministry in a press release.
The Panamanian government, for its part, explained that Martinelli traveled to Colombia under asylum on Saturday after leaving the Nicaraguan Embassy in Panama, where he had been sheltered since February 2024 following a corruption conviction.
The departure of the 73-year-old former president, who also has a long business career, brings an end to a prolonged diplomatic standoff between Panama and Nicaragua.
This dispute began in February 2024 after Martinelli’s conviction was confirmed, sentencing him to more than 10 years in prison and a multimillion-dollar fine for the “New Business” case, which involved the purchase of a media conglomerate using public funds.
In March, the government of Jose Raul Mulino, elected in May 2024 with Martinelli’s support, after taking over his presidential bid due to Martinelli’s disqualification over the money laundering case, had approved an initial safe-conduct for travel to Nicaragua.
However, the departure never materialized.
Previously, in February 2024, the administration of Laurentino Cortizo (2019–2024) had denied the request for safe-conduct.
In this regard, the Colombian Foreign Ministry explained that the government’s decision “is based on the observance of the pro persona principle and Colombia’s humanist tradition of protecting individuals persecuted for political reasons.”
In addition to the “New Business” case, Martinelli faces other accusations in Panama related to the Odebrecht scandal and in Spain for alleged bribery and a wiretapping case in Mallorca.
First published by in Spanish by Confidencial and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.