PANAMA CITY, June 11 (Xinhua) -- U.S. authorities on Monday extradited Panama's ex-president Ricardo Martinelli, placing him on a private flight from Miami, Florida to Panama City.
Martinelli, handcuffed and dressed in what appeared to be a prison uniform, landed at the capital at 8:40 a.m. local time and was handed over to Panamanian officials.
Martinelli, who served as president from 2009 to 2014, is accused of illegal phone tapping of political rivals during the last two years of his term, and is considered to be in contempt of court, since he failed to attend court hearings.
In January 2015, Martinelli went to Miami to take part in a meeting of the Central American Parliament (Parlacen), but never returned.
He was arrested there on June 12, 2017, on an extradition request by Panama.
Fellow members of Martinelli's Democratic Change (CD) party gathered outside the capital's Tocumen International Airport on Monday and waved party flags in a show of support for the ex-president.
Martinelli was to be taken to the city's El Renacer penitentiary.
