Jorge Chavez Cotrina: prosecutors may appeal the decision of the judge who did not allow access to the halls of the Palace

chief prosecutor Jorge Chavez Cotrina, Coordinator of the Specialized Prosecutor’s Offices for Combating Organized Crime, considered that Public service may appeal the decision of Judge Justiniano Romero, who rejected the delivery of the video from the residence government palace appeal against a possible violation of state secrets.

“From my point of view, state secrets are not in the corridors of the Government Palace, but in classified and secret documents, and we, as magistrates Public service We respect decisions Power of attorneywhether we agree or not. If we do not agree, we will take advantage of what the rule allows us, namely, in this case, an appeal to a higher court to overturn this measure,” he said.

In an interview with RPP newsthe superior prosecutor pointed out that normally a writ of habeas corpus, such as the one recently filed by the President Peter’s castle“The constitutional judge should order the prosecutors to stop the investigation because, in the opinion of those under investigation, their freedom is under threat.”

Jorge Chavez also talked about the president’s attacks Peter’s castle In response to your inquiries in Public service. In this regard, he pointed out that prosecutors were accustomed to this type of reaction; at the same time, he recalled that the investigations are not focused on people, but on alleged illegal actions.

“No one likes to be investigated (…) We are used to this, and we, as prosecutors, know that there are investigations that will entail this kind of attack not only from those under investigation, but also from third parties, and in this case it is excessive an attack on the nation’s attorney and on the entire system,” he said.

“The population must understand that prosecutors act objectively. We are not prosecuting a person, we are investigating actions, facts that may be of criminal significance, and the investigation is precisely aimed at determining whether these actions have criminal significance or not,” he said. added.

Finally, Chavez supported the work of the national prosecutor, Patricia Benavidez, who recently claimed to have been the victim of attacks and threats against her and her family in response to her work and investigations. In addition, he warned that there is a risk to the lives of other prosecutors investigating political power.

“We not only support him, but we are together with him as a single block, because we must protect the privileges Public service. We must uphold that the public ministry should be respected, as established by the Constitution, because our work is objective and we enjoy independence,” he said.

The balance of the prosecutor’s office to combat organized crime

Elsewhere, Chavez explained that in order to grow and become stronger over time, a criminal organization must commit two crimes in addition to the main crime (for example, drug trafficking, human trafficking, illegal mining, etc.). This is the corruption of officials in order to avoid persecution by the authorities, and money laundering in order to create the appearance of legality.

“Usually, when we deal with issues like this, these people contact the leaders or officials of regional and local governments in order to have political support to promote their criminal aspirations,” he said.

One such case is an alleged extortionist criminal organization known as “Los Chavelos”. The prosecutor clarified that this case is recent, since in 2018 the first seizure of the mine took place. bambas and preventive detention was carried out against those who set up roadblocks and extorted money from the miners.

Another recent case concerns an alleged criminal organization operating in Chincha, in the department of Ica, which consisted of municipal officials who issued driver’s licenses to people who did not meet the requirements, and who, in addition, illegally imposed fines. to smaller vehicles that have been sanctioned.

In this regard, Chávez Cotrina stressed that in the last year – from June 2021 to June 2022 – the special prosecutors for combating organized crime have secured sentences against 47 criminal organizations, which means that more than 360 people have been sentenced to prison terms. as members of these gangs. y 25 to 30 years in prison.

At the same time, he stressed that during this period, 79 mega-operations were carried out, as a result of which it was possible to achieve preventive detention of more than 500 people. And this despite the fact that political instability forced the police to “continue their work.”

RPP PODCAST: Congress Debates University System Reform, Condemns Flor Pablo

The legislator said that economic interests are behind the project, approved at the insistence of the plenary session of the parliament. On the other hand, MP Alex Paredes of the ruling Magisterial Bloc justified his group’s support for the project’s persistence despite the government’s compliance with the law.