Mulino Says That The Safe Conduct For Martinelli Will Be Discussed With The New Nicaraguan Ambassador

(MENAFN- Newsroom Panama) The President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino, stated Thursday, January 30, 2025, that in the coming days he will speak with the new Nicaraguan ambassador to Panama about safe conduct for former President Ricardo Martinelli, who has been in asylum at the Nicaraguan Embassy and diplomatic headquarters since February 2024. The president announced that Jessica Yaoska Padilla Leiva (pictured below) will present her credentials as Nicaragua's ambassador to our country in the coming days and that the issue of Martinelli's exit permit will be addressed. “In the next few days, if not next week, the new Nicaraguan ambassador will present her credentials to the foreign minister. There will be many topics discussed that could not be addressed with the previous ambassador. Now we are going to talk about it.

The safe conduct is one of them,” said Mulino this Thursday at his weekly press conference. The president spoke about the issue after accepting an additional question at the press conference.“That's all. Professor Cabrera asked me to ask him something,” said Mulino, and the question about the situation of former President Martinelli arose from journalist Gonzalo Lazzari from the radio program Panama en Directo. On social media, Martinelli said Wednesday that he needs to undergo gastric surgery in a private hospital and that:“The bad thing is that it seems that there are high ranking government officials who do not want me to get it done, as it would affect my health in a positive manner and they would rather see me dead.”

Regarding this claim, Mulino said he was not aware of it and that the government had not received any petition, while stating that he would not oppose a health request like this. “I knew absolutely nothing until this morning when I heard you say something about the operation and the mortuary. I have no idea what it is about. Nor has the government received any request for any operation from any doctor. I do not respond to such a delicate issue based on Twitter. I would never oppose anyone's health, not his, not anyone else's,” Mulino replied to a journalist's question. On December 24, 2024, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nicaragua requested the approval of Padilla Leiva from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Panama, following the departure of Consuelo Sandoval Meza, who resigned from the position days before.

Padilla Leiva Pictured above) was Minister of Women between 2020 and 2024, and an activist of the Sandinista Youth, the political arm loyal to Rosario Murillo, vice president and wife of Daniel Ortega, dictator of Nicaragua. She was also minister counselor of the Embassy of Nicaragua in Costa Rica. Consuelo Sandoval's departure occurred two weeks after the Panamanian government summoned her to complain about the behavior of former President Martinelli in that diplomatic headquarters. Martinelli has been in asylum at the Nicaraguan embassy in Panama since February 7 to avoid being sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for money laundering in the New Business case. From there, the former Panamanian president has maintained an active political participation, using social media and meeting with members of his party, Realizing Goals. If Panama requests safe conduct for Martinelli, the Nicaraguan government must begin the diplomatic process to remove him from its diplomatic headquarters in our country and transfer him to Nicaragua.

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