The Permanent Commission of Congress approved to disqualify the suspended supreme prosecutor for ten years Delia Espinoza for an alleged constitutional violation linked to the signing of a directive that established guidelines for the conduct of investigations. According to the congressmen who promoted the complaint, that document would have disobeyed the Law 32130, norm that returns to the National Police directing preliminary investigations.
With 16 votes in favor, legislators from Popular ForceAlliance for Progress, Podemos Perú, Perú Libre, Renovación Popular and Avanza País supported the sanction. The decision was adopted in a context marked by the possible reinstatement of Espinoza as prosecutor of the Nation, something that Parliament sought to prevent by also enabling the Prosecutor’s Office to criminally denounce her for abuse of authority, prevarication, generic falsehood and usurpation of functions.
The constitutional complaint presented by congressmen Fernando Rospigliosi, José Cueto and Alfredo Azurín also involved the supreme prosecutors Juan Carlos Villena, Pablo Sánchez and Zoraida Avaloswho signed the same questioned resolution. However, despite the fact that all of them were accused of allegedly not complying with the law that returned the investigative initiative to the PNP, only the case of Espinoza reached the votes necessary for disqualification. In the files of the other three prosecutors, abstention predominated.
Furthermore, the Permanent Commission approved lifting Espinoza’s jurisdiction -cwith 17 votes in favor— so that the Attorney General, Tomas Galvez, can present the criminal complaint before the Supreme Court within a maximum period of five days. The indictment for alleged crimes related to usurpation of functions and abuse of authority, leaving the former Attorney General facing a judicial process with high political impact.
Now, the disqualification of the prosecutor must still be debated and approved in the plenary session of the Congressif he gets the necessary votes, Espinoza would no longer return to the Public Ministry.
Delia Espinoza spoke out after learning of the decision of the Permanent Commission and described it as a coup d’état.
Curious. Although Pablo Sánchez, Zoraida Avalos and Juan Carlos Villena face the same accusation, the Permanent Commission did not reach the votes necessary to disqualify them.
Unlike the case of Delia Espinoza, no congressman Popular Force participated in the vote. As for the Alliance for Progress, all its members opted to abstain.
After the count, Waldemar Cerrón iHe reported that the situation of the three supreme prosecutors will be evaluated in a next session, because the abstentions were the majority.
- Martha Moyano (Popular Force)
- César Revilla (Popular Force)
- Patricia Juárez (Popular Force)
- Arturo Alegría (Popular Force)
- Eduardo Salhuana (Alliance for Progress)
- Lady Camones (Alliance for Progress)
- Jorge Marticorena (Alliance for Progress)
- Digna Calle ( Podemos Peru)
- Heidy Juárez ( Podemos Peru)
- Flavio Cruz (Free Peru)
- María Taipe (Free Peru)
- Alejandro Muñante (Popular Renewal)
- Jorge Zeballos (Popular Renewal)
- Carlos Alva (Popular Action)
- Ilich López (Popular Action)
- Alejandro Cavero (Avanza País)
