Reports from Panama City are conflicting, regarding whether the country's former president, Ricardo Martinelli, will now have extradition papers filed against him, in the United States. Public statements from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirm that it has turned down a petition, submitted by Martinelli's extensive team of attorneys, to reconsider the decision it has made to seek his extradition. According to published accounts, the ministry bases its position on the fact that the Supreme Court of Justice has acted, in a final, unappealable and binding ruling.
On the other hand, source in the ministry have stated that Martinelli's lawyers are free to submit additional documents, in support of their position that any extradition order is unconstitutional, and that such submission will prevent the proceedings from moving forward. Martinelli has been living, openly, in Miami, since January 2015, notwithstanding a dozen criminal and civil charges pending against him in Panama, and some observers believe that he will never see the inside of a Panama City courtroom, due to his intimate knowledge of the corrupt activities of the present administration. After eighteen months of delay, there may be a factual basis for their position. Will Panama now prove them wrong ?
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