Former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli traveled to Colombia on Saturday after being granted asylum, ending a 15-month stay in the Nicaraguan embassy where he had taken refuge to avoid serving an almost 11-year prison sentence for money laundering, Panama’s Foreign Ministry announced.

The Panamanian government “granted the necessary safe conduct” for the “safe departure of the asylee, Panamanian citizen Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Berrocal,” to Colombia, whose government had approved his asylum request, the ministry said in a statement.

The 73-year-old right-wing former leader had been living in the Nicaraguan embassy since February 7, 2024, shortly after his conviction was upheld for using public funds to acquire a media group during his 2009–2014 presidency.

Martinelli, also a supermarket chain owner, left the embassy in a diplomatic vehicle and was taken to an airport from which he departed to Colombia, according to the statement, which did not provide further details.

In March, President José Raúl Mulino — a right-wing politician who won the May 5, 2024 elections largely due to Martinelli’s popularity — authorized safe conduct for Martinelli to travel to Managua. However, the Nicaraguan government, led by Daniel Ortega, refused to accept him, citing Panama’s failure to guarantee that the former leader was not subject to an Interpol red notice.

Advertisement

20250509_dengue_728x90

20250501_mh_noexigencia_dui_728x90

20250501_vacunacion-influenza-728x90

20250501_vacunacion_vph-728x90

20231124_etesal_728x90_1

20230601_agenda_primera_infancia_728X90

domfuturo_netview-728x90

20240604_dom_728x90

CEL

Despite his legal troubles, Martinelli remained highly popular in Panama and was the frontrunner in the 2024 presidential race until his conviction disqualified him. His close ally, Mulino, ultimately took his place as candidate and won the presidency.

The bishop sat silently near the front row, hands clasped, as Indigenous leaders and Church workers spoke about the threats facing the forests of northern Peru, deep within the Amazon. It was 2016, one year after Laudato Si, Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment.

When it was his turn to speak, the bishop didn’t preach—even though the gathering was taking place in his own city, Chiclayo, where he was hosting a regional meeting. Instead, he reflected on what he had witnessed.

“I believe it’s a very important encyclical,” he said. “It also marks a new step in the Church’s explicit expression of concern for all of creation.”

That bishop, Robert Prevost, is now Pope Leo XIV.

“He was always warm and approachable,” recalled Laura Vargas, secretary of the Interreligious Council of Peru, who helped organize the event, in a phone interview with The Associated Press.

Advertisement

20250509_dengue_728x90

20250501_mh_noexigencia_dui_728x90

20250501_vacunacion-influenza-728x90

20250501_vacunacion_vph-728x90

20231124_etesal_728x90_1

20230601_agenda_primera_infancia_728X90

domfuturo_netview-728x90

20240604_dom_728x90

CEL

“He had a strong interest in a socially engaged ministry, very close to the people. That’s why, when we proposed holding the event in his diocese, he welcomed it without hesitation,” she added.

Since then, Prevost has strengthened ties with environmental interfaith networks like the Interfaith Rainforest Initiative and Indigenous organizations such as AIDESEP, which place forest protection and rights at the heart of Church concerns.

These credentials have given hope to clergy and the faithful across the Amazon region—a vast area of 48 million people and 6.7 million square kilometers (2.6 million square miles) in South America. Many see Prevost, who was born in Chicago and spent nearly two decades in rural Peru, as a pope who will protect the region and stand up to climate change.

Following his appointment as the new leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV offered his blessing to Mexican faithful and priests who had been waiting for him in the courtyard of the Palace of the Holy Office, just steps away from the entrance to the Vatican.

As he continued to shake hands with those present, someone exclaimed, “Greetings from Mexico!” To which Pope Leo XIV responded warmly, smiling and asking, “From Mexico?” A woman, kneeling to receive his blessing, confirmed: “All from Guadalajara.” The Pope reacted with pleasant surprise, exclaiming, “Ah, Guadalajara!”

Upon his arrival, the first American Pope—who also holds Peruvian nationality—blessed those awaiting him and even signed a Bible for a young girl.