Former Panamanian President Ricardo-Martinelli
Washington: The United States Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, today (IST) designated former President of Panama Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Berrocal for his involvement in “significant corruption”.
The 71-year-old US-educated Martinelli is a Panamanian businessman and politician who served as President of Panama from 2009 to 2014. The designation renders Martinelli and his immediate family members ineligible for entry into the United States.
Specifically, the US claimed, Martinelli accepted bribes in exchange for improperly awarding government contracts during his tenure as the President. The dismissal of Vice President Juan Carlos Varela of the Panameñista Party from the post of foreign minister on August 30, 2011, (he remained vice president) triggered the resignations of other cabinet members in solidarity and marked the end of the coalition that had brought Martinelli to power.
Martinelli was indicted in Panama for illegally monitoring the communications of more than 150 people between 2012 and 2014 using an extensive surveillance system, and for embezzling over $10 million in public funds. A justice of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Republic of Panama issued an arrest warrant for Martinelli on Dec. 21, 2015. On June 12, 2017, Martinelli was arrested at Coral Gables in south Florida after a provisional arrest warrant was issued by the US Justice Department in response to a request from Panama.
Martinelli and Manuel Antonio Noriega, are the only Panamanian political leaders detained in the US for judicial processes of institutional gravity.
On June 11, 2018, the US extradited Martinelli to stand trial in Panama on four charges related to an illegal wiretapping scheme allegedly conducted while he was in office.
Charges of cronyism and nepotism were levelled at Martinelli, as his appointments to high-level positions included those of a pair of his friends to the Supreme Court—José Abel Almengor, who had been Martinelli’s security secretary, and Alejandro Moncada, who had been removed in 2000 from the Technical Judicial Police for serious ethical breaches.
“Accepting bribes for government contracts undermines the integrity of Panama’s democratic institutions and fuels perceptions of corruption and impunity. Such acts of public corruption diminish confidence in governance and reduce resources available for schools, hospitals, roads, and other government services,” Blinken stated.
He claimed these designations reaffirmed the commitment of the United States to combat corruption, which harms the public interest, hampers countries’ economic prosperity, and curtails the ability of governments to respond effectively to the needs of their people.
In January 2015 the Supreme Court ordered an investigation of Martinelli on charges that he had overseen and profited from the issuing of inflated contracts for the purchase of dried food for a government programme while President.
In 2021, the Court accused Martinelli of corruption and money laundering in the construction of two lines of the Panama Metro and Ciudad de la Salud built by Odebrecht, Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas and associates.
Spanish court could not find Martinelli in 2022. He is suspected to have hired a private security outfit (“Group Kougar”) in Mallorca, Spain, to spy on his lover while she was there in 2020. Group Kougar included members of the Spanish Civil Guard and Army.
The United States stated that it continues to stand with all Panamanians in support of democracy and the rule of law, and will continue to promote accountability for those who abuse public power for personal gain, regardless of their position or political affiliation.
– global bihari bureau
