Two sons of former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli were arrested Monday in Guatemala as they tried to board a private plane out of the country.
Luis Enrique and Ricardo Alberto Martinelli were supposedly headed to Panama with stops scheduled in El Salvador and Nicaragua, said Guatemala Interior Ministry spokesman Vinicio Pacheco. He said there was an international order from Interpol for their arrests on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
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Two sons of former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli were arrested Monday in Guatemala as they tried to board a private plane out of the country.
In recent days, word circulated they were planning to return due to fears of the coronavirus. They have denied any illegal activity.
Ricardo Martinelli, who governed from 2009 to 2014, was detained in the U.S. and Panama for more than two years on allegations of political espionage and misuse of public funds. A court found himnot guilty in 2019 and he was released.
The son of former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli, Ricardo Martnelli Linares, is lead by an officer before a hearing at the judicial court building in Guatemala City, Monday, July 6, 2020. Guatemalan police detained Ricardo Martnelli Linares and his brother Luis Enrique Martnelli Linares on an Interpol warrant for money laundering, as they attempted to board a private plane out of the country. (AP PhotoMoises Castillo)
The sons of former Panamenian President Ricardo Martinelli, Ricardo Martnelli Linares, second left, and his brother Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares, left, are accompanied by their lawyers before a hearing at the judicial court building in Guatemala City, Monday, July 6, 2020. Guatemalan police detained the Martinelli brothers on an Interpol warrant for money laundering, as they attempted to board a private plane out of the country. (AP PhotoMoises Castillo)
The son of former Panamenian President Ricardo Martinelli, Ricardo Martnelli Linares, centerspeask on his mibole phone before a hearing at the judicial court building in Guatemala City, Monday, July 6, 2020. Guatemalan police detained the Martinelli brothers Ricardo and Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares on an Interpol warrant for money laundering, as they attempted to board a private plane out of the country. (AP PhotoMoises Castillo)
Both are sought by the Panamanian government for allegedly receiving more than $20 million in bribes from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht. The government originally sought their arrest in 2017.
Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares, son of former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli, listens to his lawyers before a hearing at the judicial court building in Guatemala City, Monday, July 6, 2020. Guatemalan police detained the Martinelli brothers, Luis Enrique and Ricardo, on an Interpol warrant for money laundering, as they attempted to board a private plane out of the country. (AP PhotoMoises Castillo)
In recent days, word circulated they were planning to return due to fears of the coronavirus. They have denied any illegal activity.
“We trust that the legal situation of the Martinelli brothers in the Guatemalan republic will be resolved as soon as possible so that they may coninue the process of their return to Panama to attend to the processes for which they have been cited,” the Martinelli family said in a statement Monday.
The brothers had been detained in Florida in 2018 for immigration reasons, but were released on $1 million bond for each.
Ricardo Martinelli Linares, son of former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli, center, is accompanied by his lawyers before a hearing at the judicial court building in Guatemala City, Monday, July 6, 2020. Guatemalan police detained the Martinelli brothers, Ricardo and Luis Enrique, on an Interpol warrant for money laundering, as they attempted to board a private plane out of the country. (AP PhotoMoises Castillo)
Ricardo Martinelli, who governed from 2009 to 2014, was detained in the U.S. and Panama for more than two years on allegations of political espionage and misuse of public funds. A court found himnot guilty in 2019 and he was released.
The son of former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli, Ricardo Martnelli Linares, is frisked by an officer before a hearing at the judicial court building in Guatemala City, Monday, July 6, 2020. Guatemalan police detained Ricardo Martnelli Linares and his brother Luis Enrique Martnelli Linares on an Interpol warrant for money laundering, as they attempted to board a private plane out of the country. (AP PhotoMoises Castillo)
The son of former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli, Ricardo Martnelli Linares, is lead by an officer before a hearing at the judicial court building in Guatemala City, Monday, July 6, 2020. Guatemalan police detained Ricardo Martnelli Linares and his brother Luis Enrique Martnelli Linares on an Interpol warrant for money laundering, as they attempted to board a private plane out of the country. (AP PhotoMoises Castillo)
The sons of former Panamenian President Ricardo Martinelli, Ricardo Martnelli Linares, second left, and his brother Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares, left, are accompanied by their lawyers before a hearing at the judicial court building in Guatemala City, Monday, July 6, 2020. Guatemalan police detained the Martinelli brothers on an Interpol warrant for money laundering, as they attempted to board a private plane out of the country. (AP PhotoMoises Castillo)
The son of former Panamenian President Ricardo Martinelli, Ricardo Martnelli Linares, centerspeask on his mibole phone before a hearing at the judicial court building in Guatemala City, Monday, July 6, 2020. Guatemalan police detained the Martinelli brothers Ricardo and Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares on an Interpol warrant for money laundering, as they attempted to board a private plane out of the country. (AP PhotoMoises Castillo)