Guatemalan Ousted Police Chiefs Had Records
Guatemala - New disclosures are coming
to light, about the four Guatemalan National
Civil Police (PNC) chiefs that were removed
from their posts recently, revealing that
they already had criminal records.
Those PNC top command members, including
Director Porfirio Perez, were relieved of
their posts, due to supposed involvement in
the theft of 262 pounds of cocaine from a
2,205-pound cargo seized on Thursday in this
capital.
All of them are subject to settlement, thus
they can not leave the country while being
investigated for that accusation.
A fifth element that managed to escape,
Criminal Investigation Special Division ex
Chief of operations Orlando Villatoro, said
to be a member of a drug trafficking group
and against whom they issued an arrest
warrant, also had criminal records.
The disclosure was made by the Justice
Minister, which stated that those involved
were accused alike of threats, swindle,
abuse of authority, disobedience and
coercion.
Officers stated against Perez, before the
PNC Professional Responsibility Office,
after the disappearance of $300,000 seized
in an operation on June 10 in the city of
Chimaltenango, 89 miles east from this
capital.
His ex Deputy Director Rolando Mendoza was
accused of coercion the past year, and
Operational Deputy Director Victor de Jesus
Lopez had been accused in a special case of
swindle.
There were two accusations against ex
Investigation Deputy Director Hector
Castellanos: disobedience in 2004 and abuse
of authority later, during a police
operation in 2005.
Villatoro's case goes back two years, when
his wife Iris Reyes accused him of threats,
according to media reports.
They are part of a 23-PNC-member group
currently investigated, due to supposed
relations to drug trafficking, and a
possible decision of calling them to appear
in court is in the hands of the Attorney
General's Office. |
