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https://www.courthousenews.com/former-panama-president-urges-us-appeals-court-to-intervene-in-money-laundering-conviction/

Panama's former President Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Berrocal, who last year was sentenced to 10 years in prison for money laundering, asked a federal appeals court in Miami Friday to void letters from a U.S. government official asserting that Panama was free to prosecute additional charges stemming from before his extradition.

His attorney, Charlie Ezra Carrillo, argued to a three-judge panel for the 11th Circuit that letters from the Department of State's legal adviser do not sufficiently waive the extradition treaty's "rule of specialty," which meant that Martinelli, who was extradited back to Panama, can be prosecuted only for crimes the U.S. agreed to when offering him up.

The adviser, Thomas Heinemann, told Panama officials the rule no longer applied in Martinelli's case after a Panamanian court in August 2019 declared Martinelli not guilty of espionage and corruption during his administration.

The U.S. embassy in Panama adopted Heinemann’s statement as the official position of the United States. A few months later, Panama began to prosecute Martinelli for additional money laundering offenses. Those crimes supposedly occurred between 2009 and 2014 but were not included in Panama’s extradition order.

The circuit judges appeared doubtful of granting the 72-year-old Martinelli's request to set aside the State Department’s communications and declare that the rule of specialty applies to his most recent prosecutions.

"I understand your client's deep frustration with the process, but your'e asking the court to tell an executive branch that their decision was unlawful and that's a very big step in this arena and not the typical thing courts are to order in matters of foreign affairs," U.S. Circuit Judge Britt Grant said.

"I'm not familiar with any case where we have done anything like this," the Donald Trump appointee added.

Joined by U.S. Circuit judges Elizabeth Branch, a fellow Trump appointee, and U.S. Circuit Judge Jill Pryor, a Barack Obama appointee, the panel seemed more persuaded by the U.S. government's argument that Panama's prosecutions aren't directly tied to the communications at issue.

Justice Department attorney Ben Lewis argued that Martinelli lacks standing and can't show how a decision in his favor would end Panama's prosecution. Lewis said their argument relies only on speculation.

"Suppose we say you're right; we say this is unlawful, and that the U.S. government shouldn't have done that. How does that get your client any relief that he is seeking?" Branch asked Martinelli's attorney.

"Ultimately, you're trying to prevent Panama from convicting your client," she added.

Carrillo argued that a declaration from the court voiding the government's letters could help them get a favorable decision and redressability in the Panama courts.

Martinelli filed his complaint in 2022 in the Southern District of Florida. A year later, a criminal court in Panama sentenced him to more than 10 years in prison for money laundering in a case dating back to 2017.

The case concerned the 2010 purchase of a Panamanian national media company. Prosecutors claim that Martinelli gave lucrative government contracts to businesses that later transferred money to the company New Business — a front Martinelli used to buy the company.

The Panamanian Supreme Court upheld Martinelli's conviction in February, making him ineligible to run, as he'd planned, in the May presidential election. Days later, Martinelli received political asylum from Nicaragua.

Under the terms of an extradition treaty, Martinelli returned to Panama in 2018 from Coral Gables, Florida, where he'd fled to escape an arrest warrant issued by Panama's highest court in 2015. He was indicted on charges related to an illegal wiretapping scheme conducted while he served as president from 2009 to 2014.

According to Panama's government, shortly after taking office, Martinelli created a special services unit that used two multimillion-dollar surveillance systems to illegally intercept and record cell phone calls and digital communications of at least 150 people Martinelli identified as “targets.” Those included his political allies and opponents and their family members, his business rivals, Panamanian judges, journalists, union activists and U.S. diplomats.

Martinelli, a populist who oversaw a period of massive infrastructure projects in the country, including construction of the capital’s first metro line, is the first former president convicted of a crime in Panama.