Colombia Grants Asylum to Former Panama President Martinelli
Ricardo Martinelli arrives at the judicial office in Panama City in 2019.
Photographer: Mauricio Valenzuela/AFP/Getty ImagesColombia said it granted political asylum to former Panama President Ricardo Martinelli, who was convicted of corruption charges and had found refuge in the Nicaraguan embassy in Panama City.
The government cited its support of “people pursued for political reasons” in providing asylum to Martinelli, who served as Panama’s president from 2009 to 2014 and was barred from running in last year’s election, according to a foreign ministry statement posted on X late Saturday.