The Broad Front (FA) attacked the government on Monday after the former vice chancellor Carolina Ache assured in an interview that “everyone else had knowledge” of the conversation he had with the Undersecretary of the Interior, Guillermo Maciel, about the dangerous drug trafficker Sebastian Marset.
During the interpellation in the Senate of the ministers Luis Alberto Heber, of the Interior, and Francisco Bustillo, of the Foreign Affairs, the government defended itself by arguing that it did not know in detail who the drug trafficker was, since at the time his Uruguayan passport was requested , was detained in Dubai. “At the time of the questioning, we all had information,” Ache said in an interview with Desayunos Informales (Channel 12).
Senator Alejandro Sánchez, one of the leaders of the Broad Front, responded to Ache’s statements by publishing a video with statements by President Luis Lacalle Pou in December of last year. At that time, the president assured that the government had not lied or “misrepresented the truth” in Parliament during the interpellation.
Other senators from the Popular Participation Movement (MPP) also joined the criticism via Twitter. Charles Carrera, former director general of the Ministry of the Interior, and Daniel Caggiani, a legislator, expressed their discontent and denounced the alleged lies.
He stated that the accusations of lies begin to “reveal the truth.” He was much harsher in remarking that “they lied to Parliament” and, consequently, “to the Uruguayan people” whom they represent. Meanwhile, “a very dangerous and heavy Uruguayan drug trafficker” is still at large.
The Marset case and opacity from the government
Senator José Carlos Mahía expressed his concern about the public admission that information was withheld from Parliament and stressed that next Wednesday Foreign Minister Francisco Bustillo will go to the Senate International Affairs Committee.
This is extremely serious. There is no justification for publicly admitting that information was withheld from Parliament. On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Bustillo will appear before the International Affairs Committee of the Senate convened by the Broad Front.
When Senator Mahía was asked about Ache’s responsibilities in the Marset case, he stated: “It will be necessary to analyze from the legal point of view if he has any responsibility, although it will undoubtedly be less than that of the two ministers,” referring to Heber and Bustillo.
Bustillo’s call to the Senate International Affairs Committee next Wednesday is due to the possible Free Trade Agreement with China and defense agreements with the United States. However, Mahía added that “It is incomprehensible that this issue (Ache’s statements on the Marset case) is not addressed, beyond not being part of the specific call.”
