This Monday, September 26, it was learned that Alejandro Astesiano, head of the custody team of the President of the Republic, Luis Lacalle Pou, was arrested by order of the Prosecutor’s Office, for alleged passport falsification.
After knowing the information, the President of the Republic held a press conference in the Executive Tower.
“We have peace of mind about our attitude. If you were surprised by the news, imagine me!” Said the president.
Lacalle reported that the last five days he was out of the country, with his children, and with the person who was arrested yesterday (Astesiano).
He added that at the time he arrived at the Carrasco airport, at the Air Base, Astesiano informed him that the Director of Intelligence, General Commissioner, Claudio Alberto Correa, was waiting for him in the presidential residence of Suárez and Reyes, for which he was He immediately moved to the Prado residence.
“The Director of Intelligence, in a brief exchange of words, told me what the matter was, and we summoned this person (Astesian) to the desk where we were meeting, and he was stopped. From that moment, to date, he is incommunicado; therefore, I do not have official information”, explained the president.
He said that he did not ask the reasons for the arrest, because he should not have done so, nor did the Director of Intelligence tell him, because his independence is to fulfill the mandate he had.
Astesiano is in the Prosecutor’s Office and is incommunicado, assured the head of state.
Lacalle added that he has enormous personal peace of mind, and so can the rest of the country, regarding the professionalism and independence of both the Prosecutor’s Office and the Police, who entered the residence of Suárez and Reyes on Sunday night to comply with with an arrest warrant for your personal custody.
Consulted by the press in reference to Astesiano being linked to other crimes since 2003, Lacalle replied: “He has no criminal record, and everyone is innocent until proven otherwise. There was an arrest warrant, which is not released for no reason, I imagine that the prosecutor has indications of I don’t know what involvement, I don’t know them, we will see later what is the primary opinion that the prosecutor makes, and obviously we will take the measures accordingly.
On the other hand, Lacalle Pou was asked if at any time he had noticed any anomalous situation and if the case has any point of contact with other cases of forged passports. The president replied: “I understand the question, but if my answer were positive, I would be covering up, and you know how the president of all Uruguayans acts.”
He said that he met “Alejandro (Astesiano) in 1999 in an electoral campaign”, then he saw him again in the campaigns of 2004, 2014 and in 2019 he accompanied him throughout the electoral campaign.
“He takes care of me and my family. I do not give the most precious thing I have, which is my family, to a person about whom I may have an indication that he acts outside the Law, ”she remarked.
Lacalle Pou: “I am responsible”
He was also consulted about the mechanism for hiring a presidential custodian, and Lacalle Pou replied: “I am ultimately responsible, always. I met him in the 1999 campaign, he handled Sergio Abreu’s security, he worked on the Lacalle Herrera campaign in 2004 and 2009, and there was a team that worked with me in 2014.”
“I am experiencing this situation badly. At this moment there is a citizen who is subject to justice, I cannot prejudge, but, without prejudice to this, my state of mind is not the best, “acknowledged the president.
He assured that, in any case, Astesiano’s situation does not warrant a thorough review of security in other state agencies. “I believe that the norm is good intention and good behavior; and the exception is bad intention and bad conduct, if it is proven in this case, because the only thing we have is the evidence.”
“You are always subject to mistakes, you have to reduce the margin of error. In this case, it does not affect the population, it affects me and my family, ”said Lacalle Pou, adding that his custodian, professionally, was impeccable and his safety was never harmed.
