The businessman Rubén Cherres, linked to the alleged corruption schemes in public companies in Ecuador that led to the impeachment trial against the president, Guillermo Lasso, appeared dead with signs of violence along with three other people in a building located in the west of the country, confirmed the Police and the Prosecutor’s Office in the last hours.
According to the authorities, armed individuals entered the home in the resort town of Punta Blanca, in the province of Santa Elena, and after a confrontation, three men and a woman died, including Cherres, a figure close to the ruling party. .
The four bodies were found handcuffed and with bullet wounds, according to the Prosecutor’s Office, while the Minister of the Interior, Juan Zapata, confirmed that the four showed signs of torture.
The official also confirmed the identification of Cherres and assured that the Police “has deployed all its technical and operational actions to determine those responsible for and causes of this event.”
The businessman, 63 years old and with an arrest warrant since January 21, was related to the Gran Padrino case, a plot of alleged corruption that points to a structure created by Danilo Carrera, Lasso’s brother-in-law, who operated in public companies in the electricity and oil sector of the country to place relatives in the public administration and obtain contracts.
The investigation indicates that the President’s government would have links with the Albanian mafia, through Cherres, who would be the main operator of Danilo Carrera and who is allegedly related to this criminal group, reported the Europa Press news agency.
The newspaper La Posta, which uncovered the investigation, published audio recordings where it was heard how Cherres had managed charges in exchange for money, influencing the appointment of the Minister of Agriculture, Bernardo Manzano.
Manzano resigned in February after it became known that he would have entered the portfolio after delivering his resume to Cherres, also investigated for drug trafficking, in implications that the now former official denies.
The opposition, with a majority in the National Assembly (Parliament), initiated the impeachment proceedings against Lasso, considering that he allegedly had knowledge of the alleged corrupt plot.
The Constitutional Court gave the green light this week to the request of Congress to start the process, in a decision that does not analyze the merits of the matter, but limits itself to verifying that the elements are there and that “due process” is complied with.
Of the total of 137 members that Parliament has, 92 should vote in favor of the so-called “motion of censure” to dismiss Lasso. There were 104 legislators who spoke in favor of recommending the trial on the 4th of this month and 18 who voted against.
The ruling party is a minority in the AN, but the body has a degree of dispersion that prevents making predictions and even Lasso was saved last year from another attempted trial, amid protests from indigenous organizations.
Source: Ambito
