Sergio Fajardo criticizes Ricardo Martinelli's asylum: "Convicted of corruption, where is decency?"

Former presidential candidate Sergio Fajardo lashed out at the government of President Gustavo Petro this Sunday after learning that former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli and his family had been granted asylum in Colombia.

Through his X account (formerly Twitter), Fajardo expressed his rejection, pointing out that Martinelli is not a victim of political persecution, but rather a person convicted of corruption.

"Mr. Martinelli and his family were convicted of being highly corrupt. No one is prosecuting him for political reasons," wrote the former governor of Antioquia, directly questioning the Colombian government's decision to welcome the former Panamanian president.

Fajardo pointed out that it was Petro's own government, through its foreign policy, that facilitated Martinelli's entry into the country. "Where is the decency and dignity they talk so much about? GREAT SHAME, what IMPUDENCE: PRISONERS of CORRUPTION," he declared in the post, which ended with a warning, "And what's missing..."

Ricardo Martinelli was sentenced in Panama to more than 10 years in prison for money laundering in the case known as "New Business." His entry into Colombia, argued as an asylum request, has sparked controversy among political and civic sectors, who consider it an act that contradicts the fight against corruption.

Former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli publicly thanked President Gustavo Petro for granting him political asylum. In a post on his X account, Martinelli highlighted his arrival in Bogotá after having spent 16 months in asylum in the Nicaraguan embassy, ​​a country to which he also expressed his gratitude.

"Happy and content to be back in Bogotá, where I received political asylum as a political refugee. Many thanks to the Colombian government and President Gustavo Petro for granting me this political asylum," the former president wrote last Saturday, May 10.

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