The National Assembly, controlled by the Sandinista Front, accepted this Tuesday, October 25, 2022, the resignation of Judge Ileana Pérez, who served as president of the Civil and Family Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ), after The official was involved in several corruption scandals and a power struggle between Daniel Ortega, Rosario Murillo and the ruling party.
The magistrate’s letter of resignation, dated Friday, October 21, was read by the first secretary of the National Assembly, deputy Loria Raquel Dixon. In the same Pérez she argued “health reasons” to resign from a position that she assumed in 2014 with the support of the Daniel Ortega regime, after the death of the Sandinista magistrate Ligia Molina.
“I am writing to you in order to present my resignation from the position of magistrate of the Supreme Court of Justice for health reasons and that requires attention, making the position available to you,” wrote Pérez, who was demoted last week by the ruling party leadership.
The resignation of the magistrate Perez it was accepted unanimously, with the favorable vote of 88 deputies present and did not warrant any discussion in Parliament.
In days gone by, the regime had taken away the constituency of Rivas and Granada, where the justice system often manages cases of valuable coastal properties and drug trafficking. According to sources consulted by CONFIDENTIALthe demotion was a consequence of the aftermath of old corruption cases, in which she was allegedly involved.
Pérez is the fourth CSJ official to fall into disgrace as a result of the FSLN’s intervention in the judiciary, thus reaffirming party control in the institution, characterized as the repressive arm of the dictatorship. In addition to Judge Ileana Pérez, the spokesperson for the CSJ, Roberto Larios was arrestedand before they dismissed the director of international relations, Katia Jaentschke Acevedoand that of protocol, Ruth Tapia Roa.
On Thursday, October 20, in the midst of internal versions of the CSJ about an alleged new transfer to the El Chipote police prison to be investigated, the Judiciary published a press release in which they reported on the participation of Judge Pérez in a workshop on the specialty of evidence in the civil process with a gender perspective.
However, later, this press release was removed from the website of the Judicial Branch. Pérez, the day of her alleged appointment at El Chipote, answered a phone call and refused to comment on her case, arguing that she was “busy” at the gym. On Saturday, October 22, she didn’t even answer and her mobile mailbox was full.
Sources then indicated CONFIDENTIAL that Pérez is in his house under police custody in what represents the resounding fall of one of the magistrates most loyal to Ortega in the CSJ. In that sense, they commented, that the dictator supported her despite the recommendation to “get out of her” due to a host of allegations of corruption and arbitrariness, including abuses against her subordinates in the departments of Rivas and Granada.
The Perez’s fall from grace It began last February 4 when she was taken to the El Chipote police prison. They then questioned her about the case of the property of a drug trafficker, which was seized and assigned in her territory to her brother Emilio Chan López, who held the position of civil judge in Rivas and was later sent north to continue teaching Justice. She continued in her position without mentioning any word about it until last October 21.
