The President of the Republic, Mario Abdo Benítez, faces a political storm this Wednesday after the coffin of the dejected leader of the EPP, Osvaldo Villalba, was authorized to enter the women’s prison where his sister Carmen Villalba, considered founder of that criminal group.
Source: EFE
Congressmen branded “slap” that Carmen Villalba was authorized to say goodbye to her brother before its transfer to a private pantheon in the Recoleta cemetery.
Furthermore, they considered “insufficient” the dismissal by Abdo Benítez of the Minister of Justice, Édgar Taboada, who left office less than 12 hours after taking office, and of the director of the Buen Pastor women’s prison, Marian Vázquez.
“What happened yesterday (Tuesday) cannot be repeated, because criminals cannot set the guidelines for the Government and the rule of law,” said deputy Kattya González in a session of the Lower House.
González assured that from the opposition they demand “Clear, forceful and categorical explanations and a public apology to the Paraguayan people by the President of the Republic.”
Related note: “Delivery” of coffin: Government says that “it did not kneel before anyone”
The legislator considered a “offense” what happened and stressed that “the dismissal of some guests is not enough.”
Similarly, he lashed out that Carmen Villalba, according to “the running version”could “threaten to riot” Y “alter” the “protocol” and what the law says, which establishes special permits for inmates in case of death or illness of close relatives and not the entry of coffins into prisons.
Moment of the entrance of the coffin to the Good Shepherd. Photo: Joel Sandino, Gen.
“The government cannot give in to this type of blackmail, because if each one is going to threaten to die, we are going to have to put the number of coffins according to the number of prisons that we have at the country level,” he declared, for his part, Senator Fidel Zavala, of the Beloved Homeland Party (PPQ).
From the ruling party, deputy Hugo Ramírez, asked “review the entire chain of command” considering that “Surely there will be more people involved.”
“This type of decision cannot overshadow the great work that the Joint Task Force (FTC) has been doing,” said Ramírez, for whom the president “has to apologize.”
Also read: Epepista’s coffin in Buen Pastor: there was no communication or clear directive
Osvaldo Villalba died on Sunday in combat with the FTC military, in what was a severe blow to the Paraguayan People’s Army (EPP) criminal group after the kidnapping, in September 2020, of former Vice President Óscar Denis.
Asked about what happened, the Minister of the Interior, Federico González, told Radio Ñandutí from Montevideo that “Obviously it was a mistake” and noted that “The corresponding corrective measures have already been taken.”
In any case, he considered that the dismissed head of Justice had just taken office and faced “an unexpected situation”.
