A judge in Panama asked Interpol on Tuesday to help arrest the country's ex-president Ricardo Martinelli on spying and corruption charges, police said.

"The national police received the demand and it was immediately sent to the Interpol office" in Panama, said the head of the force, Omar Pinzon.

"They immediately began procedures according to international police norms."

Martinelli is thought to be in Miami, according to media. The foreign ministry on June 9 said it wanted the United States to extradite him.

Martinelli, a millionaire businessman, is accused of corruption and of tapping opponents' and journalists' phones and emails during his 2009-2014 presidency.