Bukele withdrew from the OAS anti-corruption commission and ordered the arrest of an advisor appointed by Almagro

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele announced on Friday that his government would break the agreement with the Organization of American States (OAS) which gives life to the International Commission against Impunity in El Salvador (Cies). “We have decided that as the Presidency we are also going to break our agreement with the OAS-Cicies because it is totally absurd that we are trying to fight against impunity with precisely the people who promote impunity in El Salvador. “said Bukele at a press conference. conference.

President of El Salvador accused OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro of promoting impunity in the country with the appointment as adviser of Ernesto Muyshondt, a former mayor who faces two criminal proceedings. “Secretary General grants impunity or attempts to grant impunity to Salvadoran criminal, he (Almagro) knew”the president said at a press conference.

The president, who criticized Almagro, claimed that “You can no longer trust the OAS” because in his opinion, he “promotes a political agenda” and that there has been “the granting of impunity to a criminal”, in reference to Muyshondt.

On Thursday, Almagro announced on Twitter that Muyshondt, former mayor of San Salvador (2018-2021), was joining as “adviser to the general secretariat”.

Following this appointment, Bukele announced that he had decided to break the agreement with the OAS that had created the International Commission against Impunity and Corruption (CICIES) in El Salvador.

“The OAS does not intend to fight against impunity” in the country, said Bukele, who felt he “failed” to choose the OAS to head the commission, which was installed in September 2019 at the request of the Salvadoran government to provide technical assistance to the government. parquet.

After Bukele’s statements, Attorney General Rodolfo Delgado announced that he had terminated the agreement with the OAS.

Muyshondt has been the subject of criminal proceedings since February 2020. The attorney general’s office accuses him of meeting with gang leaders before the 2014 presidential elections to negotiate, allegedly by paying money, the vote for these groups criminals in elections. The former mayor has always denied having negotiated with criminal groups.

“We cannot take another possible decision (breach of the agreement with the OAS General Secretariat). How can we continue with a commission against impunity with someone who gives impunity to a criminal? “, asked Bukele.

He added that his government “will seek the support of the international community” to set up another commission to fight impunity and corruption. “Seeing all the garbage and all the rot behind these (international) institutions is going to be difficult, but we are going to get there.”, he concluded.

The decision to end the CICIES comes at a time when the international community blames Bukele for trying to concentrate power with the help of Congress, which has removed a group of magistrates and the attorney general.

The San Salvador court that responds to the president ordered her house arrest on Friday for crimes of electoral fraud and illegal negotiations, she told the AFP a spokesperson for the courts. After the order was issued, the prosecutor’s office ordered the police to arrest him for public finance offenses, for which Muyshondt is imprisoned in a police cell.

Muyshondt, who reigned under the opposition Republican Nationalist Alliance banner (Arena, right) and lost his re-election last February to the ruling party candidate, criticized the decision and assured him he was now a ” political prisoner “.

“I faced a dictatorial and authoritarian regime, which sent criminal mobs from a delinquent Minister of Labor, a puppet government prosecutor, pressured the judges, and their fake news, harassment, harassment and persecution . I introduced myself, I showed my face. Today I am a political prisoner“, He posted on his Twitter account. The politician added that he holds Attorney General Rodolfo Delgado and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele responsible for “any damage to my life”.

(With information from AFP, EFE and Europa Press)

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