Martinelli Linares brothers' escape plan thwarted in the Mariscal Zavala prison in Guatemala
The Guatemalan authorities, in an intelligence work with the United States, dismantled the escape plan and kept the Martinelli Linares isolated.
On the morning of this Thursday, the search was reported at the Mariscal Zavala Prison Center in Guatemala, a prison where the brothers Ricardo Alberto and Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares are being held, but hours later the authorities reported on an alleged attempted escape of the children of the former Panamanian president from this detention center.
According to the Guatemalan Minister of the Interior, Gendri Rocael Reyes, to the Guatemalan media, the escape plan was detected thanks to an intelligence process with international agencies and the United States.
"The Ministry of the Interior receives timely information through an international alert from the United States of America, where the Minister of the Interior Gendri Reyes, since yesterday afternoon, reinforces the security schemes in the maximum security prison of Mariscal Zavala, coordinating with the Minister of Defense, to strengthen the schemes precisely in the face of an imminent alert of the escape of the Martinelli Linares brothers, this causes a search to be carried out at six in the morning of this day (Thursday), through units of the National Civil Police to confirm this information, "declared Pablo Castillo, spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior.
It was detailed that the Martinelli Linares brothers planned to escape and are now being kept isolated in a bartolina (cell) until the investigations are completed.
In the middle of this action, it was also possible to detect cell phones, knives, chargers, pliers, phone cases, an air antenna, a screwdriver, beers and two bottles of liquor.
The Office of the Attorney General of the Nation of Guatemala also reported that as a result of this search, 9 girls, boys and adolescents who were in the place outside visiting hours were rescued. Therefore, they will initiate legal actions against prison authorities for the permanence of minors and relatives of inmates.
The Martinelli Linares remained in pretrial detention in zone 17 of this Guatemala City prison, after being arrested on July 6, 2020 with an extradition order from the United States. It should be noted that around 250 people are behind bars in this detention center, most of them high-profile prisoners accused of corruption, such as former Guatemalan president Otto Pérez Molina (2012-2015).
According to the Guatemalan Minister of the Interior, Gendri Rocael Reyes, to the Guatemalan media, the escape plan was detected thanks to an intelligence process with international agencies and the United States.
"The Ministry of the Interior receives timely information through an international alert from the United States of America, where the Minister of the Interior Gendri Reyes, since yesterday afternoon, reinforces the security schemes in the maximum security prison of Mariscal Zavala, coordinating with the Minister of Defense, to strengthen the schemes precisely in the face of an imminent alert of the escape of the Martinelli Linares brothers, this causes a search to be carried out at six in the morning of this day (Thursday), through units of the National Civil Police to confirm this information, "declared Pablo Castillo, spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior.
It was detailed that the Martinelli Linares brothers planned to escape and are now being kept isolated in a bartolina (cell) until the investigations are completed.
In the middle of this action, it was also possible to detect cell phones, knives, chargers, pliers, phone cases, an air antenna, a screwdriver, beers and two bottles of liquor.
The Office of the Attorney General of the Nation of Guatemala also reported that as a result of this search, 9 girls, boys and adolescents who were in the place outside visiting hours were rescued. Therefore, they will initiate legal actions against prison authorities for the permanence of minors and relatives of inmates.
The Martinelli Linares remained in pretrial detention in zone 17 of this Guatemala City prison, after being arrested on July 6, 2020 with an extradition order from the United States. It should be noted that around 250 people are behind bars in this detention center, most of them high-profile prisoners accused of corruption, such as former Guatemalan president Otto Pérez Molina (2012-2015).