Ecuador’s Congress has lifted the hold on documents that would link Albanian groups to Ecuadorian politicians

He Ecuadorian Congress lifted the reservation of two reports of the Dating case which has been investigated by a legislative commission. This investigation aims to demonstrate the links between Albanian groups and the close entourage of the Ecuadorian president, Guillermo Lassoto plead the political trial that the opposition in the National Assembly is promoting against the president.

Less than twelve hours after the decision of the plenary session, Gisele Garzon, of the correista bench, assured that “there is political responsibility” of President Lasso, in the alleged acts of corruption in public companies and assured that the documentation shows that there is a cause of omission to lead him to dismissal. Lasso’s opposition said they could use a figure of “omission corruptionwhich involves holding someone responsible for the corruption committed by another person, but this figure does not exist in the Ecuadorian Constitution or in the current Penal Code.

While lawmaker Ricardo Vanegas, of Pachakutik, indicated that “there is not a single clue that links the president, Guillermo Lasso, nor Mr. Danilo Carrera (Lasso’s brother-in-law)” in irregular acts, so “what value can this have in a (political) trial?

The National Assembly lifted the reservation of a report of the Superintendency of Enterprises on the alleged links of Albanian criminal groups with politicians and Presidency blogs, which are the record of who entered and left Carondelet, the presidential house of Ecuador. These registers were handed over to the Assembly as part of the León de Troya investigation, carried out alone by the Parliamentary Anti-Corruption Front, independently of the commission in charge of investigating the Encuentro affair. Juan Ferdinand Floresleader of the pro-government bench, explained that all the documents will be scanned and distributed to the 137 members of the assembly and will also be public for the media.

Deputy Vanegas this morning read to the press the names of the Ecuadorian politicians who, according to the report of the Superintendence of Enterprises, have links with the Albanians. Among them are two members of the assembly from this period: Dalton Bacigalupo, of the Democratic left and Ferdinand Cedeno, of the correista bank; 11 mayors, three current ministers; 24 advisers; three members of the assembly from previous periods; and a former Minister of Lasso.

In statements on March 15, Bacigalupo maintained that his “only corporate relationship is with family businesses, for the activities that their families have been doing for more than 50 years in Ecuador”. Furthermore, he clarified that those who appear in the Superintendency’s report are not charged with any crime.

The block of the Ecuadorian opposition in the National Assembly confirmed last Friday that it will seek to initiate the process of Accused about the president Guillermo Lasso. The president is being investigated over an alleged conspiracy by Corruption involving public companies and in which his brother-in-law is mentioned.

The announcement made in recent hours, in which it was specified that “the request for impeachment is firm and will be presented in mid-March”, constitutes an important advance in the file since the opposition forces are in the majority in Parliament .

Among the lawmakers who signed the declaration are the President of the Assembly, Virgilio Saquicela, and various representatives of different groups, such as the Union for Hope (Unes) -affiliated with former President Rafael Correa- and the Social Christian Party (PSC).

Representatives of a sector of indigenous Pachakutik movementclose to the current leader of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie), Leonidas Iza, and another dissident sector of the Democratic Left (IDENTIFIER).

All expressed their support for the impeachment decision against the president, which could lead to his out of power.

However, the political trial must be qualified before the Constitutional Court, since it must be registered in the grounds provided for in the Constitution of Ecuador.

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