Embezzlement, the crime for which Laso is politically prosecuted in Ecuador

The Oversight Committee of the National Assembly (Parliament) has already started the procedure procedures that can anticipate the end of Lasu’s term, after the Constitutional Court gave the green light to this request.

During the session, the president of that legislative table, Fernando Villavicencio, indicated that they would only deal with embezzlement and the valid evidence would be that of the accusation.

For Villavicencio, there will be no place in the discussions for allegations of corruption at state-owned Petroecuador, nor for alleged links to drug trafficking and the Albanian mafia through his son-in-law, Danilo Carrera, and his handler, Rubén Chires, who has been murdered. last friday.

This criterion has been refuted by other members of the Assembly, such as Roberto Cuero, of the Union for Hope Benches (UNES), who warned that it was not a criminal trial, but a political one, and noted how in the process “the future of the country is at stake” .

Villavicencio believes he is a foreman rather than the head of a legislative committee, said MP Ricardo Olkwango, also from UNES, adding that “in his desperation to defend a corrupt government, he exposes himself for what he is, a simple lasso worker.”

The political trial was presented by Assembly members Viviana Fellowes, of UNES; Pedro Zapata, of the Christian Social Party; Mireya Pazminho, Pachacute actress; and Rodrigo Fajardo of the Democratic Left.

The charge accepted by the Constitutional Court specifically points to apparent irregularities in the chartering of vessels to transport crude oil by Flopec in 2018.

Laso justified himself and said that the evidence on which the accusation is based was signed before he became president, and according to him, the prosecutor’s office did not even open an investigation for this reason.

However, the filing notes that former Flopec general manager Johnny Estupiñán notified the governor twice of illegal actions in contracts with the Amazonas Tanker Pool.

Regardless of the charges, there are other complaints that, although not accepted by the court, create an unfavorable environment for the president.

Laso reached that point after digital media outlet La Posta brought to light earlier this year audio files and documents linking his son-in-law Danilo Carrera to corruption the CEO apparently knew but did nothing about. .

A scandal also broke out over alleged government drug-trafficking links, particularly with the Albanian mafia through Carrera and his handler Rubén Shires, who was assassinated last Friday, and so much of the background to the case has remained silent.

Given this scenario, former President Rafael Correa (2007-2017) considered that apart from the accusation drawn for embezzlement, it is necessary to discuss other issues, such as the relationship with the Albanian mafia and the murder of Cheris.

lam / avr