Martinelli's likely to be denied asylum
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| Newsroom Panama |
The request was presented before the United States Immigration Service, but, according to the sources, the US diplomatic delegation in Panama has recommended denying the request, arguing that the ex-president “does not meet the requirements”.
The US Immigration Service grants this status for people who can demonstrate that in their respective countries they have been victims of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality and/or membership of a particular social group or political opinion.
However, the US Embassy in Panama considered that Martinelli does not meet any of these requirements, and that, by contrast, he has a dozen court cases related to corruption, that he must face.
So far, the US government has not given an official response, but Martinelli’s lawyers have been alerted by other routes that the request will be denied in the coming days.Odds are that Martinelli will leave the United States for a third country before Panama moves to put out an arrest warrant for the former president. He can travel freely at this point because there is no such warrant for his arrest.
It's been a pretty fascinating year in Panama as two Supreme Court judges were forced from the bench based upon corruption charges; one has already pleaded guilty. Martinelli's former Social Development and Finance ministers are under arrest. Martinelli's private secretary has been arrested as have two former directors of the country's National Security Council. Former Vice President Virzi has been under house arrest since May.
While there have been murmurs about whether an international commission against impunity would help in Panama, authorities there have been proactive since Martinelli left office demonstrating that international commissions are not necessary to tackle Central American corruption.
Let's see if El Salvador can do the same with Reynaldo Cardoza.
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