Panama’s National Police clarified on Sunday that an Interpol alert request for former President Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014) is still under review and has yet to be confirmed. Martinelli was granted a safe-conduct pass last Thursday to leave the Nicaraguan embassy, where he has been seeking asylum since February 2024 after being convicted of corruption.

“The National Police clarifies that there is currently an active process for an Interpol alert, requested by Judge Baloisa Marquínez, against former President Ricardo Martinelli. This request must be analyzed by Interpol’s General Secretariat (headquartered in France) for approval or rejection. If approved, it will be notified to member countries,” the police stated in a press release sent to EFE.

According to the statement, “at the moment, it remains an ongoing procedure, and former President Martinelli does not have a confirmed alert.”

The announcement came hours after National Police Director Jaime Fernández had told the press that an “Interpol alert” for Martinelli had been received on Friday.

The Nicaraguan government canceled the legal status of 10 more non-profit organizations on Friday (March 28, 2025), including the Swiss Foundation for Development Cooperation, bringing the total number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) shut down since December 2018 to over 5,600.

According to the Ministry of the Interior, the Swiss Foundation for Development Cooperation, which had been registered since March 9, 2002, was found to be in non-compliance for failing to report its financial status for 2024 and for having an expired board of directors.

Among the 10 NGOs whose legal status was revoked were religious organizations, educational groups, consumer associations, and aquaculture organizations, all dissolved “voluntarily” or closed under similar reasons.

As of today, more than 5,600 NGOs have been dismantled following the popular protests that erupted in April 2018 in Nicaragua. In most cases, the assets of these organizations have been ordered to be transferred to the state.

After years of receiving thousands of migrants daily traveling from the south towards the United States, the dangerous Darien jungle crossing at the Panama-Colombia border can now be considered closed, said Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino on Thursday.

“For all practical purposes, the Darien border is closed… We no longer have a migration problem coming from Colombia,” Mulino stated during his weekly conference, announcing that the migrant flow through this crossing had dropped by 97% in March compared to the same period in 2024.

Only 194 migrants have crossed the Darien from south to north this month, according to official data.

The more restrictive migration policies of U.S. President Donald Trump, since taking office on January 20, have impacted the situation, along with Panama’s increased control over the migration flow, according to experts and authorities.

Several weeks ago, the Panamanian government announced the closure of two of the three shelters located in the Bajo Chiquito and Lajas Blancas areas in the Darien, which had been set up to accommodate migrants due to the low number of people they were receiving.

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Panama has been heavily criticized by human rights groups for detaining migrants without their passports or cell phones, and under harsh conditions in these camps.

Regarding the flow of migrants traveling from north to south, many of whom are returning due to the impossibility of reaching the United States, “it has grown a little, but it has grown,” said Mulino. Most migrants continue their journey back to their countries of origin.

The majority of migrants in both cases are Venezuelan, according to the president.