It’s not a good time for ex-presidents. Panama’s Ernesto Pérez Balladares is planning to appeal his house arrest order before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
The former presidents of Taiwan, Chile, and Costa Rica are serving long jail sentences for various forms of corruption and acts against the state.
Ex-presidents of France and Israel are facing serious charges and a former president of Guatemala was arrested on corruption charges Monday.
Meanwhile Panama is harboring a former Guatemalan president, wanted in his own country, but living in a Panama mansion.
Prosecutor José Ayú Prado says that the case against Pérez Balladares is under the control of Supreme Court Justice Alberto Cigarruista, who has already rejected appeals by the former president to be released.
Prado has also rejected rumors  that Balladares had recently been spotted in Boquette, saying the anonymous tip police received to was incorrect. If in fact Balladares broke his house arrest, he would likely face the same fate as a former education minister who, having been released on bail, was returned to jail when he was seen at a political function. Numerous appeals to lift his incarceration have failed.