A year before the presidential election in which the former head of state wants to run, the United States decided to punish former Panamanian president Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014) for “corruption”. They thus sent a strong message to the Panamanian justice system.

The lawyer Carlos Barsallo announced that this sanction “is one more test for the Panamanian judicial system, which throughout its history has had evidence in its possession (in corruption cases) and unfortunately the results have not & “Up to the challenge.” Indeed, former Panamanian president Ricardo Martinelli is banned from entering the United States, as is his family. According to the announcement by the American Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday, January 25, 2023, this ban is caused by the “bribes” paid to him by the Brazilian construction group Odebrecht.

Blinken announced in a statement sent by the American Embassy in Panama that the politician “accepted bribes in exchange for the bidding in an irregular manner ; re of public contracts during his presidential mandate.” This leads “Martinelli and members of his family immediately ineligible to enter the United States.”

Ricardo and his children have also been charged with alleged money laundering in this case as well as in the scandal known as the “Blue Apple” (“Blue Apple”), a system for collecting commissions on the amount of projects carried out under the Martinelli presidency.