The first ladies, another face of corruption in Latin America

The
first lady This is not an elected position. It does not have power functions and even less pay. However, far from the protocolary role that concerns them, some wives of heads of state are extremely influential and powerful women. In
Latin Americamany of the first ladies, past or present, are far from being overshadowed by the shadow of their husbands, although they do not always stand out in a positive way.
Accused of money laundering, fraud, illegal appropriation, violation of human rightsamong other indictments, several wives of leaders in the region have been compromised by major corruption cases.

"If we consider corruption and its various manifestations as frameworks of actions, committed in most cases by networks or structures, the family represents the hard core or the first circle, where factors of proximity, trust and In other words, the first ladies, who were formerly refugees behind their husbands and who performed purely symbolic and third-level functions, have often become accomplices of their partners, "he said. declared.
THE NATION Guatemalan political badyst Renzo Rosal, transparency expert.

For years, politics in Guatemala has been tarnished by vast networks of corruption. In fact, the former Congress, Otto Pérez Molina, was not founded in the performance of his duties and had been remanded in custody for his alleged involvement in La Línea's customs fraud network. , with the support of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (Cicig).

Although the first Guatemalan ladies have not been involved in any formal process, according to Rosal, they do not completely escape the networks of corruption. "Rosa Maria Leal [la esposa de Pérez Molina], has been reported to be involved in bribery, although this has not been part of this case. Currently, Jimmy Morales' wife, Patricia Marroquín, has been reported, but not formally denounced, of cases of illegal electoral financing and money laundering, as apparently unrecorded resources during the election campaign. 2015 are under his name in the United States. .Uu. Even in this regard, it was considered that Morales' priority was to maintain "good" relations with officials of this government in order to "prevent" that these probable cases progress, Rosal added.

Honduras: Rosa Elena Bonilla of Lobo

The latest scandal involved the
former lady of Honduras, Rosa Elena Bonilla de Lobo, who was sentenced on August 20
11 crimes related to acts of corruption (three crimes of misappropriation and eight fraud crimes).

The Honduran prosecutor has requested a sentence of 77 years imprisonment for the wife of former President Porfirio Lobo Sosa. Bonilla de Lobo has been appointed by the Mission to Support Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (Macci)
irregular subtraction from just over $ 510,000 from the office account of the first lady's office to a personal account four days before her husband's presidency in 2014.

The Maccih stated that Bonilla de Lobo was also accused of
money laundering, embezzlement and illegal badociation for having collected more than $ 650,000 and created a money laundering network to hide money from the state, intended for social works. From there, the Bonilla case in Lobo has been described as
"Girl's box of the lady".

Peru: Nadine Heredia

Communicator and co-founder of the Peruvian Nationalist Party,
Nadine Heredia
She was charged in 2017 with her husband, the former president of Peru,
Ollanta Humala Tbado, for the alleged crime of
money laundering and for allegedly leading a criminal organization, who injected funds from the Peruvian economy
Government of Venezuela for the 2006 election campaign and the
Brazilian construction company Odebrecht for the 2011 campaign.

After serving nine months of pre-trial detention, the marriage was released in May 2018, but subject to certain restrictive measures such as a biometric check every 30 days before a judge, maintaining the same address and authorization in travel case. Now
the prosecution demands 26 years in prison for Heredia and 20 for her husband.

Venezuela: Cilia Flores

The first lady of Venezuela,
Cilia Flores She was baptized by Chavismo as "first fighter" and "daughter of Chávez". With a clean political career, the controversial leader's wife
Nicolás Maduro She is perhaps the most powerful woman in the country, even occupying in the past more important functions than those of her husband.

Flores was a lawyer from Venezuela and
President of the National Assembly and in the 1990s he was one of the
Defense lawyers of former President Hugo Chávezwhen he was imprisoned for leading a military coup.

The day he entered his candidacy for the presidency, Maduro warned in front of a crowd that she
it would not be a "second". But its importance and its spirit have added a long list of enemies.

In September 2018, the
The US Treasury Department imposed financial penalties on Floresas part of an effort to reach the environment closest to the Venezuelan president.

Venezuelan First Lady had already been subjected to such measures by the Government of
Canada, which sanctioned it with 13 other leaders of Chavez whom it considers as "responsible for the aggravation of the democracy in Venezuela".

In addition, the former Chabad legislator was accused by the opposition of being a
nepotist. He used his political position to employ 40 family members and family members in various positions he held in the public administration.

Nicaragua: Rosario Murillo

"The Chayo", it is so that they know it in Nicaragua. Extravagant and extremely influential,
Rosario Murillo has gone beyond the role of first lady to become vice-president of her husband,
Daniel Ortega.

"At the presidency, the rosary is 50% compound and Daniel 50%," said Ortega at a public lecture.

Niece granddaughter of
Augusto César Sandino, the national hero of
Nicaragua inspiring
Sandinist movementMurillo was educated in Switzerland, speaks several languages ​​and has gone into the world of letters during his youth. Controversial and powerful, the slim woman dressed in colorful clothes has been compared by her detractors to the energetic character of Claire Underwood, from Netflix's "House of Cards" series.

In November 2018,
the United States government imposed sanctions Vice-President of Nicaragua and a senior advisor accusing them of corruption and
serious violations of human rights.

According to the Treasury Department,
Murillo had an influence on the youth organization of the Sandinista Liberation Frontwho allegedly carried out extrajudicial executions, torture and kidnappings.

El Salvador: Vanda Guiomar Pignato

Vanda Pignato Brazilian lawyer, she was the first lady of El Salvador between 2009 and 2014, year of her divorce with the former president Mauricio Funes.

While her ex-husband, who has five charges brought before the Salvadoran courts, lives opulently in Nicaragua, after President Ortega granted him political asylum in 2016, Pignato, with less luck,
is under house arrest since September of last year. The former woman has been accused of belonging to the alleged corruption network
hijacked $ 351 million in the administration Funes.

In addition to the case known as
"Public looting"the face
charges to simulate a crimesince, according to the prosecutor's office, she denounced the fact that her signature had been falsified for the purchase of a car from Miguel Menéndez, a friend of Funes, but after investigation, it was determined that the signature was his.

El Salvador: Ana Ligia Mixco Sol de Saca

But Pignato was not the only Salvadoran first lady to have problems with justice. The Attorney General's office needs more than $ 17 million to
Ana Ligia Mixco from Saca, wife of the former president
Elias Antonio Saca, in civil liability for
appropriate public funds during her husband's government between 2004 and 2009.

According to an opinion of the Prosecutor, the former first lady
He laundered the money with the help of his brother Óscar Edgardo Mixco, through companies related to
Samix Group (Saca-Mixco).

Mexico: Angelica Rivera

Mexican actress
Angelica Rivera was married to the former president
Enrique Peña Nieto from 2010 to 2019 and was first lady between 2012 and 2018.

In 2014, the revelation of a Rivera property, commonly known as "White House", caused a great scandal:
mansion valued at around $ 4.3 million It was on behalf of a lender who had won contracts with the Mexican government. The first lady was quick to send a message to the nation claiming the property, which she said had bought with the money that she had won on a soap opera.

However, years later, another "White House" appeared, this time in Los Angeles, at a cost of $ 3.2 million. A few days later, her ex-husband, José Alberto Castro, said that he had rented this house for his daughters.

Bolivia: Gabriela Zapata

Although she is not legally married to
Evo Morales,
Gabriela Zapata I am the first de facto lady of
Bolivia. When he had to meet businessmen whom he had promised to get directly to the head of state, service for which he was charging thousands of dollars, he went on. is returned to the office of the social management support unit, which is entrusted to the first lady.

In May 2017, the former president of the Bolivian president was
Sentenced to 10 years in prison for unlawful enrichment. The conviction of Zapata, former commercial director of the Chinese company CAMC, came one year after the start of the legal proceedings against him for six crimes. On February 3, 2016, journalist Carlos Valverde denounced the fact that Mr. Zapata, 31, won public contracts in favor of the aforementioned company, CAMC, worth $ 566 million. dollars, thanks to his influences with Evo Morales.

Zapata was also known for the media case of paternity of an alleged son with the Bolivian president. The existence of the child is the subject of controversy since his arrest. Morales and his ministers claimed that the child had died shortly after his birth, while other authorities claimed that he had not even been born.

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