(Guatemala) Two sons of the former President of Panama Ricardo Martinelli, in detention in Guatemala, will be extradited soon to the United States, which claims them in the context of the Odebrecht corruption case, after a Guatemalan court has given the final green light for one of them.
Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Linares, 42, on Monday gave his consent in court to be extradited to the United States where he is accused of money laundering.
The green light for the extradition of his brother Luis Enrique was given in May.
“I wish to express my decision to accept the extradition process and to ask the court to carry out the necessary formalities so that it takes place as soon as possible”, declared Ricardo Alberto Martinelli.
During the hearing, he explicitly renounced to continue to lodge appeals against the extradition process, underway since the arrest of the two brothers on July 6, 2020 at the Guatemala City airport as they tried to return to their country. in a private humanitarian flight.
The court found that there was no longer any objection to the extradition and the procedure is now the responsibility of the Guatemalan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The United States is demanding from Guatemala the extradition of the two brothers at the request of the American justice which suspects them of having been involved in the operations of the Brazilian construction group Odebrecht, which “paid more than 700 million dollars in jars of wine to Panamanian government officials’ to win deals.
According to American justice, they would have allowed the payment of 28 million dollars into secret bank accounts in the name of ghost companies.
Mr Martinelli Sr. is himself accused in the Odebrecht case. The popular former Panamanian president has announced his intention to run for the 2024 presidential election.
Panama is also claiming the Martinelli brothers for another corruption scandal.
The Odebrecht scandal has affected many leaders and political parties in Latin America. Former bosses of Brazilian society have admitted in court that they have illegally distributed millions of dollars in bribes in exchange for, among other things, public procurement awards.