The Prosecutor of Instruction Iván Rodríguez was appointed to initiate an investigation to determine if three public officials had prior knowledge of “the punctures” suffered by the babies who later died at the Neonatal Hospital of Córdoba and did not report the events at the time.
This was stated by Rodríguez this Thursday at a press conference, where he made known the characteristics of this new investigation that the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPF) of Córdoba began on Wednesday, and denied that it goes in parallel with the case that exclusively investigates the motives and direct responsibilities for the death of five babies between March and June, carried out by prosecutor Raúl Garzón.
“It is not a parallel investigation, it is not an investigation of the first investigationand it is not an investigation of a possible political line or functional responsibilities that may exist in relation to the other facts that are being investigated, which are the deaths and injuries of babies in the hospital,” Rodríguez quickly clarified.
“It is not a parallel investigation, it is not an investigation of the first investigation, and it is not an investigation of an eventual political line or functional responsibilities”Iván Rodríguez, investigating prosecutor
In that sense, he reinforced: “This investigation is limited to determining whether the public officials who have been the subject of this referral of records, have incurred -or not- in any criminal conduct.”
The prosecutor under investigation is Guillermo González, in addition to an official from the Executive Branch and a member of the forensic team of the Judicial Branchhighlighted Rodríguez, of whom he did not provide their names.
In his talk with the press, the prosecutor argued: “Strictly speaking, the piece that is sent to me arises and is the subject of investigation if one of them was aware that there were children who had punctures and that they did not have a medical explanation in principle. ”.
Rodríguez stressed that he “cannot affirm” that any of these officials were aware of the deaths of babies, although he stressed that “I am not denying it if it is later established, but I cannot affirm it at that time either.”
“The important thing is that the MPF decided to start an investigation to see if there is responsibility or not,” he summarized.
In the last hours, The Minister of Health of Córdoba, Gabriela Barbás, removed from his position the deputy director of Administrative Management of the Maternal Neonatal Hospital, Alejandro Escudero Salamaafter the MPF opened the new line of investigation.
This new investigation fell, by computer lottery, to the 3rd District Prosecutor’s Office, shift 6, in charge of Rodríguez, and will be carried out independently of the process carried out by the Garzón Instruction Prosecutor, in which a nurse is detained and three directors of the health establishment were charged.
After the displacement of Escudero Salama, Minister Barbás and the director of the Neonatal Hospital, Marcelo Argüello, were summoned by prosecutor Garzón and participated in a meeting in which they made contact as recently appointed health authorities.
“On this occasion, the minister made the Ministry available, and particularly the Neonatal Hospital, in relation to the cause she is investigating,” they indicated from the health portfolio.
So far, the only person arrested in the case is nurse Brenda Agüero, 27 years old., who remains in the Bouwer prison accused by prosecutor Garzón of “repeated homicide”, while the former director of the Hospital, Liliana Asís, is also charged with “omission of the duties of a public official”; as well as two heads of the Neonatology area, Marta Gómez Flores and Adriana Morales.
Recently, prosecutor Garzón ordered that the detained nurse be subjected to psychological and psychiatric tests to then move forward with the investigation.
Although this Thursday Agüero’s defense attorney, Luis Obregón, confirmed to the Cba24n site that the prosecution agreed to a request and the woman will be investigated before the interdisciplinary expertise is carried out. Confirmation of the date of that inquiry is also awaited.
The cause for the death of five babies after being born in good condition between March and June last, in addition to eight others who survived, led to the resignation last Thursday of the then Minister of Health of Córdoba, Diego Cardozo, after the questions received by not having made the complaint before the Justice when in March he was already aware of what was happening in the Neonatal Hospital.
Then, only an internal administrative summary had been initiated in the Neonatal Hospital and the judicial investigation was known on August 11 based on specific complaints for the death of five babies born healthy between last March and June.
According to official data, the deaths occurred on March 18, April 23, May 23 and another two on June 6 this year.
The preliminary results of the autopsy of two babies born on June 6 concluded that the deaths occurred due to “hyperkalaemia” caused by “excess potassium injected intentionally”, and other pathologies, error or misuse were ruled out. praxis.
