A Panamanian held in Mexico since November 2009 along with a cousin of  the president, Ricardo  Martinelli and and two others  has  denied knowing her fellow accused.

 Ninoska Yariela Escalante Paredes, was one of three arrested in a process including Ramon Martinelli Corro,  a former Parlacen deputy and cousin of President Martinelli. They were accused of ties to a cell dedicated to money laundering for the Mexican narco cartel the Beltran Leyva.

Escalent said on Telemetro April 2  that she never had anything to do with the alleged network and did not even know the others mentioned in the case.

She confirmed that she was imprisoned in Mexico from 2009 until Feb. 23 this year and returned home on March 4. She was accused of  involvement  in  organized crime but the case was finally dismissed by the Second District Criminal Prosecutions Court in the state of Mexico.

The other Panamanians arrested in the process were Martinelli Corro, Jorge Luis Enrique and Cesar Alvarez Cummings Fabrega.

Escalante said that at the time of her arrest was with Fabrega, after a two-day trip, but gave no details of her links with Fabrega, who died in prison in 2010.

She  claimed  that her arrest was illegal because the agents were not identified, were not in uniform, had no order, and had not given a the reason for the arrest

Escalente  said she met the Beltran Leyva brothers while in preventative detention when she was accused of attempted money laundering. Before her arrest she had been to Mexico only twice in a decade.

She said she had no relationship with the Democratic Change party and had never met the president, Ricardo Martinelli  and she rejected the statements of former Comptroller Alvin Weeden that one way or another she was linked with the president.