Panama extends safe passage for ex-President Martinelli amid Nicaragua asylum dispute

Panama’s government announced on Monday it has extended by three days the safe passage allowance for former President Ricardo Martinelli to travel to Nicaragua, where he has been granted asylum.

Martinelli, sentenced to over a decade in prison for money laundering, has been living in the Nicaraguan embassy in Panama City since February last year following Panama's Supreme Court’s confirmation of his conviction.

While Panama had approved Martinelli’s safe passage last week, complications arose when the country’s judicial branch requested an Interpol red notice against him— a request that Panama’s police declined.

In a statement broadcast on local television, Nicaragua’s government demanded clarity from Panama, accusing the red notice request of being an “ambush” aimed at preventing Martinelli’s departure.

The dispute highlights ongoing tensions between the two countries as Martinelli seeks to secure his asylum in Nicaragua.

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