Panama Runner-Up Lombana Met Convicted Ex-President Martinelli in Colombia
Key Facts
Panama’s opposition is already manoeuvring for the 2029 election, three years early. Now the country’s leading anti-corruption candidate has met the ex-president he long criticised.
MOCA, the party of 2024 runner-up Ricardo Lombana, confirmed on 18 September that he met former president Ricardo Martinelli in Colombia. El Siglo reported that the party denied any electoral pact for 2029, saying “listening is not making a pact”.
Why It Matters Beyond Panama
Ricardo Lombana leads MOCA, the Movimiento Otro Camino, or Another Way Movement. He finished second in the May 2024 presidential election with 24.59 percent, behind José Raúl Mulino.
Mulino replaced Martinelli on the ticket after his upheld conviction barred the former president from running. Martinelli, president from 2009 to 2014, was sentenced in 2023 to 128 months for money laundering in the New Business case.
La Prensa reported that the Supreme Court rejected three constitutional challenges to the sentence in an October 2025 ruling. He left Panama’s Nicaraguan embassy for Colombia on 10 May 2025 and has lived there under territorial asylum since.
Colombia classed him as politically persecuted, which La Prensa said shields him from extradition there. Those protections end if he leaves Colombian territory, according to the same report.
Panama matters to foreign readers because it runs the Panama Canal, a key route for world trade. Whether its anti-corruption camp stays separate from Martinelli’s machine will shape the country’s politics until 2029.
What Happened in Bogotá
La Prensa reported the visit took place in early August at a Bogotá clinic during Martinelli’s spine surgery. Deputy Luis Eduardo Camacho, a Martinelli ally, said Martinelli was in the operating theatre when Lombana arrived.
Martinelli’s lawyer Alejandro Pérez told La Prensa the two men have since spoken by phone. According to La Prensa, contact between the two camps began about four months before its report.
The paper headlined its story “Los Ricardo Albertos”, because both men share the first names Ricardo Alberto. It recalled Lombana joking about that in March 2023, saying both men want “the best for Panama”.
La Prensa also noted that President Mulino has not invited MOCA deputies to meetings at the presidency. The paper wrote that Martinelli now appears closer to Lombana than to Mulino, the man who replaced him on the 2024 ticket.
What MOCA Said
El Siglo reported that MOCA secretary Mario Pinzón confirmed the meeting in a party statement. The statement said the encounter was not a political agreement or an electoral alliance for 2029.
MOCA said its position on corruption and on court rulings “has not changed and will not change”. La Estrella de Panamá quoted the party saying its “sole alliance is with Panamanians”.
MOCA said Lombana holds regular talks with leaders of several parties and with former presidents. MOCA used the statement to criticise proposed electoral changes, including raising party registration thresholds from 2 to 3 percent.
It also opposed a financing split of 93 percent for parties and 7 percent for independent candidates. The party further objected to plans to eliminate the National Electoral Reform Commission, known as the CNRE.
La Estrella reported that more than a dozen groups are seeking party status, while nine parties are already recognised. MOCA warned that such fragmentation could favour those who want to keep the status quo in 2029.
Who Martinelli Is
Martinelli governed during a boom, with average growth of about 9 percent a year, according to Wikipedia. His New Business conviction concerns the purchase of the Editora Panamá América media group, known as EPASA.
Besides the 128-month term, La Prensa said the court imposed a US$19.2 million fine and barred him from public office. The newspaper also reported that detention orders exist against him in the separate Odebrecht bribery case.
He was acquitted in August 2019 of charges that he had the phones of about 150 people tapped. Martinelli presides over Realizando Metas, the party that carried Mulino to power in 2024.
He sought refuge at Nicaragua’s embassy in February 2024, saying he was a victim of political persecution. La Prensa noted that a future Colombian government could revisit his status and approve extradition.
Who Lombana Is
Lombana is a lawyer and former journalist who was once a senior editor at the newspaper La Prensa. He served as Panama’s consul general in Washington from 2004 to 2007.
He ran as an independent in 2019 and came third with 18.78 percent of the vote. MOCA was announced on 27 October 2019 as the vehicle for his next campaign.
In 2024 he won 559,432 votes, La Prensa reported, second only to Mulino. His campaigns have centred on anti-corruption, which is why the visit to Martinelli drew attention.
The Reaction
Eco TV reported on 19 September that the Bancada Seguimos legislative caucus said “we do not make pacts with the corrupt”. The group pledged to oppose any amnesty proposal in the National Assembly.
Deputy José Pérez Barboni asked Lombana to explain the meetings to the country, La Prensa reported. Deputy Grace Hernández told the paper that meeting and talking is very different from making a pact.
Deputy Ernesto Cedeño declared his opposition to any amnesty bill, according to the same report. The pledges reflect concern that any future political deal could open the way to an amnesty for Martinelli.
The Numbers Behind 2029
Mulino won in 2024 with 34.23 percent, ahead of Lombana on 24.59 and Martín Torrijos on 16.03. Turnout reached 77.64 percent, the highest since democracy was restored in 1989.
In the 71-seat National Assembly, Realizando Metas holds 14 seats and MOCA three. Independents, many organised in the Vamos coalition, won 20 seats, more than any single party.
Mulino’s term ends on 1 July 2029, and Panama’s constitution bars consecutive re-election. That leaves the 2029 race open, since the sitting president cannot stand again.
What It Means If You Follow Panama
For investors, the meeting is an early signal of how the 2029 field may realign around Martinelli’s voters. Changes to party thresholds and campaign funding could also narrow the space for independent and new candidates.
For Panamanian voters, the key question is whether the main anti-corruption option keeps its distance from Martinelli. For expats and visitors, nothing changes in practice, since no election or legal change is imminent.
What Is Not Yet Known
Neither camp has disclosed what the two discussed, and Martinelli has not commented publicly. It is not known whether Lombana will run a third time in 2029 or whether MOCA would back another candidate.
The final shape of the electoral reform, including the 3 percent threshold, has not been settled. It is also unclear whether any amnesty bill will be filed in the National Assembly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the Lombana-Martinelli meeting matter?
Lombana built his career on fighting corruption, and Martinelli is a convicted ex-president. Any alliance between their camps could reshape Panama’s 2029 election.
Who is Ricardo Lombana?
He is the founder and leader of MOCA, a Panamanian anti-corruption movement. He finished second in the 2024 presidential election.
Why is Ricardo Martinelli in Colombia?
He was sentenced in Panama to 128 months for money laundering. Colombia granted him asylum, and he arrived there in May 2025.
Did MOCA announce an alliance with Martinelli?
No. MOCA confirmed the meeting but said it was dialogue, not an electoral pact for 2029.
Sources: El Siglo, MOCA confirms meeting and denies 2029 pact, La Estrella de Panamá, Lombana and Martinelli meet in Colombia, Eco TV, Bancada Seguimos responds, La Prensa, Court upholds Martinelli’s New Business sentence, La Prensa, the rules of Martinelli’s asylum, La Prensa, Lombana visits Martinelli in Colombia, Wikipedia, 2024 Panamanian general election results, Wikipedia, Ricardo Martinelli, Wikipedia, Ricardo Lombana, Wikipedia, President of Panama
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief