The former Minister of Health of Córdoba Diego Cardozo was charged this Monday by the local Justice for omission of duties of public officialin relation to the cause being investigated for the death of babies born healthy at the Ramón Carrillo Maternal Neonatal Hospital in the capital, judicial sources indicated.
The Prosecutor of Instruction Raúl Garzón was the one who decided the imputation of Cardozo, who left his position last month due to the questions received for allegedly not alerting the situation in timeof which he would have been aware months before it was made public.
Also, The former deputy director of Neonatal Hospital Management was also chargedthe lawyer Alejandro Escudero Salama, for the same figure, who alludes to the omission of having denounced the serious events that occurred in the hospital.
Cardozo had left office on August 25, when he presented his resignation, and also Other health officials who would be aware of the information were removed from their positions.
This is the Secretary of Health, Pablo Carvajal; the director of Hospitales Capital, Esteban Ruffin; and the director of Maternity and Childhood, Marcela Yánover.
Earlier, Justice decided to extend the accusations for the crime of “ideological falsehood” to a nurse and two former directors of the Ramón Carrillo Maternal Neonatal Hospital.
The case is still kept secret, but a judicial source indicated that the prosecutor decided to extend the accusation for “ideological falsehood” to nurse Brenda Agüero, 27, detained since August 19 and charged with “repeated aggravated homicide”. by insidious procedure”, to which it will now also add in degree of “attempt”.
Agüero is accused of intentionally inoculating babies with toxic substances that later caused her death.
The new accusation also reaches the former director of the “Ramón Carrillo” Maternal Neonatal Hospital, Liliana Asísand the former head of the Neonatology area, Marta Gómez Flores, who are charged with the crimes of “omission of the duties of a public official.”
As anticipated, the prosecutor Garzón will investigate, in the course of this week, the two former directives.
With regard to the detained nurse, the extension of the accusation of “repeated aggravated homicide by insidious procedure, to an attempted degree”, is related to the babies who were also intentionally inoculated with toxic substances and survived, which, in principle, are eight.
The lawyer Daniela Morales Leanza, legal representative of one of the mothers of a surviving baby, born on June 6 of this year, told Télam that María is one of those who requested the expansion of the accusation against the nurse.
“We are the plaintiff and we request the expansion of the attempted murder for the nurse”said the lawyer, adding that they have already provided documentary evidence to “prove that hypothesis.”
In this context, he said that among the documentary evidence presented are analyzes that “confirm the intentional inoculation of potassium” which, he said, left sequels to the baby.
She indicated that since then she has been undergoing “physiotherapy and dermatological treatment for punctures in the back that later turned into bruises and then necrosis” of the skin.
“The mother had a controlled pregnancy and her baby was born healthy. When she was born they took her to her control and then they return her with punctures, then comes the decompensation ”he stated.
The case
The judicial investigation became known on August 11 from complaints about the death of five healthy babies born between March and June.
According to official data, the deaths of the babies occurred on March 18, April 23, May 23 and two others on June 6 this year.
Preliminary expert reports determined that the death of two babies, born on June 6, occurred due to “hyperkalemia” that was caused by “excess potassium intentionally injected”, since other pathologies, error and misuse were ruled out. praxis.
The provincial Minister of Health, Diego Cardozo, had to resign on August 25 after being questioned received for not having denounced the fact before the Justice because, according to the investigation, in March he was already aware of what was happening and only an internal administrative summary had been initiated.
Gabriela Barbás, who was in charge of the Secretary for Prevention and Health Promotion of that portfolio, took over in her place.
In a related case, the justice is investigating whether any judicial official had also been notified about the suspicious deaths of the babies and did not act on it.
