OAS denies having a deal with Moosend, regrets closure of CICIES in El Salvador

The Organization of American States, OAS, has refused to hire former mayor of San Salvador Ernesto Mushond and regretted that it was justified to close the International Commission against Punishment created on September 6, 2019. CICIES, which was created on September 6, 2019 by the government of El Salvador and OAS.

Rodolfo Delgado, a lawyer appointed by the ruling party in the legislature since last May 1, argued at a press conference on Friday that the decision to terminate the agreement was made because OAS General Secretary Luis Almagro had revealed that Muishshond had been appointed as your adviser.

In a statement issued this Monday morning, OAS said: “We deeply regret the release of El Salvador’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs news release dated June 4, 2021, thereby violating the International Covenant on Corruption in El Salvador (CICIES), as well as the reasons stated in the report.”

Also read: Social organizations criticize government for ending CICIES to avoid accountability and cover up corruption | News from El Salvador

According to the OAS, Foreign Ministry spokesman Ernesto Mushond, the former mayor of the Arena party, who has been prosecuted for various offenses since 2016 because the OAS General Secretariat was hired as an adviser, said “CICIES was created” to fight corruption and not to promote and punish them completely, and then the matter.

“Mr. Ernesto Mushond was not hired as stated in his statement, but only offered an opportunity at the time for an honorary contract, but this contract was never signed,” OAS clarifies.

In this sense, “it is obvious that, rather than explicitly, basic knowledge of diplomatic law and diplomatic practice, even hiring Mr. Ernesto Mushond would not have given him immunity before the courts of Salvador, and would have given him very little” punishment. “

In light of the above, the OAS “rejects the categorical argument outright, and we consider it our duty to disclose our differences with the Government of El Salvador regarding CICIES.

The organization, which covers 35 countries in the United States and the Caribbean, confirmed that its disagreements with the El Salvador government over the work of the CICIS “could not continue the work of the Commission.”

Continue reading: The Lawyer’s Office is trying to test the company by believing it belongs to Ernesto Mushond

The recently approved law for the use of products for medical treatment in exceptional public health situations caused by the COVID-19 infection approved on May 5, 2021; “It benefits people who may be involved in corrupt practices due to the immunity established under Section 4 of the Act, and CICIS has not been able to continue to function within the framework of punishment.”

He added: “The Buckell government’s decision not to publish the first explanatory report on the quality, effectiveness and legitimacy of the use of public funds in response to the COVID-19 epidemic. In that statement, it is necessary to investigate the continuing abuses of criminal origin “verified”.

The OAS report on the CICIES suffocation by the Attorney General, who heads the finance tax, states that Rodolfo Delcado has completely “reduced” the probability of his investigation.

Read also: ICEFI proposes to release CICIES 12 cases related to government-related corruption

OAS notes that the government tried to persuade CICIES to investigate opposition politicians. “The government’s continued approach of trying to provoke the CICIES to investigate the actions of opposition politicians exclusively. This is completely unacceptable and contradicts the assurance that the General Secretariat will never be a tool for political persecution by the CICIS government,” he said.

The line for the break with CICIES says “no going back”

This morning, imposed attorney Rodolfo Delgado said he would not “back down” on the decision to terminate the contract with OAS to fight corruption in El Salvador. He assured that even if the deal was finalized, they would investigate “any corrupt practices from both the previous administrations and the current ones.”

“At the end of the day, this is a decision that will be implemented in the next 30 days by July 30,” Delcado said. He added: “I question the constitutionality of some of the activities in the agreement signed with the FGR and the protocol derived from that agreement, because it is an adjunct to criminal training, I do not think I do.”

Delcado underestimated this Monday’s report of the OAS, where he regrets the decision taken by the Salvador government. He also pointed out that they will continue to fight corruption. “The FGR has been fighting corruption for many years and decisions made with or without technical support are in the courts,” Delcado said.

Referring to the 12 files in the study that say CICIS may have committed corruption in government procurement activities during the epidemics, Delcado said he did not speak because “I have a balance in relation to investigations.” He admitted that he was aware of the existence of the alleged files. “There are some warnings, but other control mechanisms are being implemented,” he said.

They are proposing to make public 12 notices of alleged corruption in the government

On the other hand, the Central American Institute for Financial Studies (ICEFI) on Saturday proposed that 12 cases of corruption related to five government agencies reported by the International Commission against Penalty in El Salvador (CICIS) be made public. .

Ricardo Castaneda Anzetta, ICEFI Senior Economist of El Salvador and Honduras, presented the plan after attorney Delgado announced that the agreement between the government of El Salvador was established on September 6, 2019 by the Ministry of Public Works with CICIS. And OAS.

Read: “We made a mistake in trusting OAS” says Buckell after breach of contract with CICIES

The US Diplomatic Representative in El Salvador has established a position on the closure of local government cooperation for CICIES, regretting this decision.

“We made a mistake in believing in OAS,” President Naib Bukhale told a news conference on Friday. “The only person who has made at least one major mistake for all disciplines is the OAS general secretary for hiring a criminal,” Bushel notes to Mushont.

He therefore justified the breach of contract, without further details and by refraining from answering questions from journalists if former lawyer Raul Melara had anything to do with the 12 cases, sent to CICIES to investigate the corrupt practices committed by the authorities. Ministries of Health and Other.