Former minister Franklin Martins is deported from Panama after being detained at the airport
Journalist Franklin Martins, former minister of the Secretariat of Social Communication in the second term of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, was detained and deported from Panama on Friday, 6.
The case happened after disembarking at Panama City airport, while en route to an air connection towards Guatemala.
According to Martins’ own account, immigration agents approached him as he left the plane, examined his passport and took him to a private room at the airport. There, he was interrogated by police and prevented from continuing his journey.
After hours of detention, the former minister was placed on a flight back to Brazil.
Questions about prison during the dictatorship
According to the former minister’s report, during the interview, the agents asked questions about personal data, in addition to an arrest that occurred in 1968, during the Brazilian military dictatorship.
Martins said he explained that the detention was for political reasons related to the fight against the military regime in the country. Still, he was informed that he could not continue his journey to Guatemala.
According to what police officers told him, the decision was based on a 2008 immigration law, which prevented the entry or connection of foreigners with records related to crimes considered serious.
The former minister also said that he requested contact with the Brazilian Embassy in Panama, but the request was denied.
Panamanian government apologizes
After the episode, Itamaraty contacted the Panamanian government to ask for clarification.
In response, Panama’s foreign minister, Javier Eduardo Martínez-Acha Vásquez, sent a letter to Brazilian minister Mauro Vieira, apologizing for Martins’ retention.
In the document, the minister justified the case with the automatic application of migration procedures based on alert systems that the country’s authorities use.
The chancellor also stated that the episode does not reflect the Panamanian government’s regard for Franklin Martins. He also highlighted that the former minister will be “always welcome in Panama”.
However, Martins said in his report that members of Panama’s National Police let slip that the application of the 2008 immigration law had become stricter following recent government decrees. “In 2025, the US and Panama signed very comprehensive agreements in the area of security,” he commented.
The letter of apology also praised Brazilian diplomatic leadership.
“Relations between our countries are going through an excellent moment, characterized by close cooperation, fluid political dialogue and sincere friendship between our governments and between the presidents of both nations”, said the chancellor in one of the excerpts.
Case provokes reactions in Brazil
The episode generated demonstrations of solidarity with Franklin Martins.
In a post on social media, the Minister of Agrarian Development and Family Farming, Paulo Teixeira, stated that the former minister was “unfairly prevented” from continuing his trip and classified the measure as “absurd and inexplicable” between friendly countries.
The Brazilian Press Association (ABI) also released an open letter to the Panamanian ambassador to Brazil criticizing the journalist’s retention and deportation.
In the document, the entity states that Martins was just in transit at the airport and that he was prevented from communicating with the Brazilian diplomatic representation.
For ABI, the measure was unjustifiable and represented disrespect for the rights of journalists.
