The lawyer of the Army general, Boanerges Reyes Batistaand the captain of the Navy, Franklin Antonio Mata Floresboth accused of alleged corruption, assured the court that the deposits for hundreds of thousands of pesos to the accounts of their clients, they were legal due to the functions they performed.
During his intervention before the First Collegiate Court, the lawyer Waldo Paulino mentioned the deposits indicated in the accusation for more than 317 thousand pesos and in which Mata Flores is mentioned, and another for 665 thousand pesos, transferred to the payroll of Reyes Batista.
He maintained that at no time their representatives were aware that these funds were allegedly illegal, and also argued that it is common for military in relevant positions receive additional deposits to their salaries, a practice that—as he stated—is common in the Armed forces.
He indicated that in the Specialized Presidential Security Corps (cusep) and in the Specialized Tourist Security Corps (Cestur) this type of transfers due to the handling of sensitive information related to national security.
Boanerges Reyes was deputy chief of cusep from 2012 to 2014, and Mata Flores, director of Avanzada.
To illustrate his approach, the lawyer compared the deposits with the per diem that public officials receive when they attend official activities, such as congresses. He pointed out that said additional payments They are not considered illegal.
According to the accusation of the Public Ministrythe military and police officers involved would have used budget resources intended for food rations and intelligence funds for their own benefit. cusep and of Cestur.
He points to Girón as the only person responsible
Waldo Paulino He stated that his clients, as well as others military and prosecuted police officers—including Army Major General Adán Cáceres Silvestre—are innocent.
He assured that the only person responsible for the State scam of more than 4,500 million is the Army major. Raúl Alejandro Girónwho has collaborated with Public Ministry and has implicated other defendants.
He Public Ministry requested a five-year suspended sentence for Girón in exchange for his cooperation in the investigation.
In their conclusions, on February 5, the prosecutors They asked to sentence the general to 20 years in prison Boanerges Reyes Batista and the captain Franklin Antonio Mata Flores.
The defense of Reyes Batista and Mata Flores will continue presenting her arguments next Thursday the 26th, when the substantive judgment.
