National District.- The head of the Public Prosecutor’s Office’s General Directorate of Prosecution, Wilson Camacho, assured this Friday that the court’s decision to exclude the criminal charge of terrorism in the Chameleon case does not affect the strength of the accusation presented by the prosecuting body.
Referring to the decision issued by the Sixth Instruction Court of the National District, Camacho explained that the court understood that the subjective element required to support the accusation of terrorism was not established. However, he highlighted that the crime of sabotage was upheld, which covers the objective part of the conduct attributed to the defendants.
“The court excluded the criminal charge of terrorism based on its view that the subjective element of the criminal offense is not met, but it retained sabotage, which allows for the objective element of the criminal offense to be retained. This is a matter that can perfectly well be resolved at trial,” he maintained.
The prosecutor pointed out that during the trial on the merits, the Public Prosecutor’s Office will have the opportunity to present evidence and request a possible variation of the legal qualification if it manages to demonstrate all the required elements.
“It is not a problem for the Public Prosecutor’s Office. It does not weaken the case because the facts remain, the evidence remains, and the court upheld the sabotage,” he stated.
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Camacho compared the decision to the preservation of most of the original indictment. “It is like saying that the court retained 90% of the criminal charge. The rest we can prove and resolve at trial as the evidence is presented,” he expressed.
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Likewise, he highlighted that this process constitutes the first known indictment under the modifications introduced to the Penal Code and emphasized the speed with which the file has advanced.
“Only six months have passed since the filing of the indictment to this day, and this case is already going to trial, which demonstrates the speed with which criminal proceedings can be heard following the amendment,” he indicated.
When responding to questions about the absence of other officials among the accused, following allegations made by the defendant Jochi Gómez, Camacho avoided referring to specific cases, although he highlighted that the legal qualification accepted by the court includes the crime of money laundering.
“The legal classification retained by the court includes money laundering, which means that in this case there could be sentences reaching up to 20 years of imprisonment,” he concluded.
