Extradition of Panama ex-president Martinelli’s son referred to Guatemalan Foreign Ministry

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Guatemalan Judiciary transferred the file of Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares, son of Panama’s ex-President Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014) to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a new step to complete his extradition to the United States for money laundering.

With the file transferred, as established by law, the Guatemalan Foreign Ministry will be able to process the handing over of Martinelli Linares to the U.S. authorities in the near future, a source from the Judiciary confirmed on Wednesday.

The extradition of Martinelli’s son was ordered last May 25 by the Guatemalan 5th Criminal Sentencing Court, despite several petitions filed by the Panamanian’s defense counsel to prevent it.

Luis Enrique and his brother Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Linares were arrested in Guatemala on July 6, 2020 when trying to travel to Panama in a private aircraft, after almost a year in unknown whereabouts, and since then they have been in the Mariscal Zavala military barracks prison, northeast of Guatemala City. The brothers’ extradition proceedings are being handled separately in two different Guatemalan courts.

In the case of Ricardo Alberto, a decision on whether or not to grant extradition is still pending before the 3rd Criminal Sentencing Court, as other appeals lodged by his defense before an Appeals Chamber are still being processed.

The United States request stems from the alleged crime of money laundering during his father’s term in office, in a corruption case linked to Brazilian construction company Odebrecht.

According to the indictment of the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of New York, the Martinelli Linares are responsible for the crime of conspiracy to commit money laundering and two crimes of concealment of information to that end, between 2009 and 2015, in amounts of nearly US$1 million.

Interior Minister Gendri Reyes reported in early July that security forces thwarted an alleged plan by the Panamanian brothers to escape from the Mariscal Zavala military barracks prison.