A group of men lit candles this Sunday night in front of the National District Prosecutor’s Office in support of the former Minister of Public Works, Gonzalo Castillo, arrested early Saturday morning in Operation Squid on corruption charges.
With banners in hand, the men, led by the merchant Rodolfo Nivar, asked the authorities to explain what happened to Castillo and other detainees by the Special Prosecutor for Administrative Corruption (Pepca).
Nivar defended the work of Gonzalo Castillo, whom he described as a brave man, after recalling that he was the first to help the country when the COVID-19 pandemic arrived.
He called the people to “be determined to know the truth about this political, media issue, to try to recover from this government disaster that the PRM has at this time.”
Yassel Domínguez, councilor of the National District and member of the Central Committee of the PLD, described the arrest of Castillo as “political persecution” and that it was all about a media show.
The group announced that his presence tonight is a preview of the crowd tomorrow, Monday.
An hour after the group took up position in front of the Prosecutor’s Office, the place was reinforced by several National Police patrols.
Gonzalo Castillo was one of the 19 detainees in the 40 simultaneous raids carried out by Pepca in the National District and other provinces. Also detained are former ministers Donald Guerrero and José Ramón Peralta; the former General Comptroller, Daniel Omar Caamaño; the former director of the State Sugar Council (CEA), Luis Miguel Piccirilo; former director of the National Cadastre, Claudio Silver Peña, and former directors of Casinos and Gambling, Oscar Chalas Guerrero and Julián Omar Fernández.
Also arrested are Roberto Santiago Moquete, Agustín Mejía Ávila, Emil Dávila Fernández, Marcial Reyes, Alejandro Constanzo, Yahaira Brito Encarnación and Ana Linda Fernández.
The Public Minister accuses them of the association of criminals, embezzlement, a coalition of officials, falsifying public and private documents, bribery and illicit campaign financing on an unprecedented scale, and money laundering, among others.
