Former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli commented on the conclusion of the Odebrecht case trial, reiterating his innocence. He emphasized that in the wiretapping cases, he was already acquitted, and after the case was reopened, he again received a favorable ruling. "I am innocent of everything," he insisted, recalling that the new cases against him were driven after those judicial decisions. Martinelli also questioned the civil lawsuit for $159 million filed against him within the Odebrecht Panama trial process, stating that he has certifications from the Court of Accounts, the Prosecutor's Office of Accounts, and the Comptroller General's Office that — he said — prove he did not cause patrimonial damage to the State. "However, I have been sued for that." At the conclusion of the Odebrecht case trial in Panama on this Friday, February 27, the former president Ricardo Martinelli offered statements in which he reiterated his innocence, denounced violations of due process, and assured that, despite everything, he maintains a "point of confidence" in the Panamanian justice system. With his direct style, the former head of state first sent a message to his critics: "To my dear and beloved haters, it will be on another occasion that they get me, but not in Odebrecht," he expressed before detailing the arguments with which he dismantles the accusations against him. "They accuse me of facts when I was not president" Martinelli maintained that the process is based on facts that occurred between 2010 and 2014, a period in which he served as President of the Republic, but he affirmed that the accusations formulated against him correspond to supposed events of 2008 and 2009, when he had not yet held the position. In addition, he ensured that the questioned funds were duly reported to the Electoral Court, so — he maintained — there is no irregularity whatsoever linked to the Odebrecht case. He denounced a violation of due process The former ruler criticized that, just as in the New Business case, he was not allowed to cross-examine the witnesses who incriminate him. "This is an injustice," he stated. According to his explanation, he was brought to the country under the principle of specialty, which limits the judgment to the specific charges for which extradition was granted. Martinelli defended that he has already faced and overcome previous processes. He reiterated that preventing the defense from re-constitutes a serious violation of due process. "They accused me without imputing anything," he affirmed when recalling his extradition from the United States in the wiretapping case.
