Javier Corral denies that the house of terror existed; They are “slander and lies”

Gustavo Castillo Garcia

Newspaper La Jornada
Saturday December 10, 2022, p. 8

Javier Corral Jurado, former governor of Chihuahua, defends himself. Faced with the accusations of those who claim to have been psychologically tortured in what was the Government House, and many people call the haunted houseensures that there was never an interrogation center.

For the PAN member, the psychological pressure and the fact that the members of the Chihuahua Attorney General’s Office during his tenure did not allow the detainees to eat, take medication, go to the toilet or drink water, cannot be considered torture or physical aggression.

In research carried out by the day around the X Files, it was learned that more than 300 former officials, businessmen and opponents of the Corral government were interrogated and psychologically pressured in the haunted house.

Corral assured: there was never an interrogation centerY the important thing is that never (any of those investigated or accused) have alluded to any physical torture or aggression.

The politician said that the witnesses who now accuse having been subjected to violations of their human rights have filed complaints because they were yelled at, (and) well, the prosecutor himself (of the entity today, Roberto Javier) Fierro Duarte (in statements to this newspaper) never talks about torture, (he said) that they were cruel, inhumane treatment, because they were subjected to lengthy interrogations.

It was pointed out to him: that is torture. The baker replied: that’s not torture.

Regarding the Justice Operation for Chihuahua, which is socially known in that state as X Files and it was launched during his tenure, he stated: “the most important thing for this matter was to select a good prosecutor for the state, who was César Augusto Peniche Esquivel.

“He created a comprehensive strategy to combat corruption, but above all to investigate facts based on complaints that already existed and very important information that came to us during the campaign.

“It generated a whole strategy from the formation of the specialized unit (for the X Files), which did not exist in the State Attorney General’s Office (FGECH). He integrated a relevant team with people who were already there, and who, by the way, was coordinated by Francisco González Arredondo.

This operation was a mega process against political corruption, criminal action was brought against 49 people, 80 arrest warrants were obtained, and there are close to 20 or more trials concluded with a conviction.

In the case of Javier Duarte, Corral Jurado pointed out that his predecessor It has 20 arrest warrants for different deviations and crimes. He alone in these folders accumulates about 1,350 million patrimonial damage to the state.

Corral Jurado indicated that with the Justice Operation for Chihuahua it was possible to recover, due to sanctions, more than 1,300 million pesos through criminal and fiscal proceedings.

– How did you decide that Francisco González would direct that group?

– I did not decide. It was appointed by the Attorney General César Augusto Peniche. He knew all that team from before, since he had been a delegate of the PGR, he was the one who called the team; he knew the expertise of each one and I suppose that he did it based on technical criteria.

– Who determined that the Government House would become an interrogation center?

The Government House ceased to exist. That is part of this whole scheme of slander and lies. From the campaign we offered that these facilities would be used for another use.

“We said that we were going to decide if the house would become a cultural or rehabilitation center.

“What was the alternate office of (Javier) Duarte (governor of Chihuahua from 2010 to 2016), was where all the robbery was planned, all the looting for the state. We always knew that we were going to leave it on loan to the FGECH and all the facilities went to the prosecutor’s office.

“There was never an interrogation center there. There, what were generated were different areas of the specialized unit (directed by González Arredondo), about 50 people worked there.

González Arredondo is being held for political revenge. She (the governor) seeks to wash her face, because the prosecutor coordinated the prosecution work against her, because she was linked to the process for the crime of bribery for being part of the secret payroll of César Duarte. Offenses the state attorney’s office dropped before she took office.

-They say that the entire Operation Justice for Chihuahua was a revenge against officials, businessmen and political opponents.

–What we did was take César Duarte to court and many more actors and alleged perpetrators appeared along the way.

He explained that during a tour of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, he explained the situation of the accusations and the extradition procedure against César Duarte: “how (Enrique) Peña Nieto and particularly Elías Beltrán, who was in charge of the Attorney General’s Office the Republic, would have provided protection to my predecessor. Even how they tried, before leaving, to exonerate him and how they made it difficult to request arrest warrants for extradition. López Obrador promised me that there would be no complicity or protection.

We realized that not all orders had been submitted to the US authorities, but some had been delivered very poorly. Today we are working on the modification of the principle of specialty.

–Did you approve the application of psychological torture and mistreatment during interrogations?

I categorically deny it. It is a slander, a vile lie. There is not a single element that can prove it.

-The witnesses are those who have stated that they have been subjected to torture.

They haven’t pointed to me. They are not accusing me of anything.

–There are some indications that you observed and directed the interrogations.

We have all the elements to refute that assertion. We have videos of how the house was, how it operated.

–From the interrogations and from Gesell’s chamber?

–They wanted to create within the file and accommodate the facilities of the Specialized Unit to Combat Corruption to make believe that there was an interrogation center with a Gesell camera. That was Duarte’s gym.

–If Francisco González became a protected witness and accused you?

-Francisco González is a man of integrity. I have nothing to be ashamed of, I have a clear conscience.

– Are you going to protect yourself?

-Nope. I am not going to protect myself. I have never supported myself.

The former Chihuahuan president affirmed that in the management of the governor, María Eugenia Campos, also a PAN member, there is an attempt to criminalize her actions against corruption and it is about covering up illegal acts by relevant PRIAN actors.

“María Eugenia Campos is driven mad by the desire for political revenge. They have searched for me everywhere and now it turns out that the most serious accusation is that I have dual nationality, as if it were not a constitutional right today.

She does not forgive me that we have not excluded her from the corruption of César Duarte. That is what is at the bottom of the matter.