Attorney Osvaldo Granada Salaberry has alleged that the political influence structure once epitomized by former Judicial Council (JEM) president Óscar González Daher remains active within Paraguay's Consejo de la Magistratura, according to a report by Ultima Hora.
Speaking to the outlet, Granada Salaberry questioned the current election process for magistrates, suggesting that the original intent of placing political oversight on the judiciary has been subverted. “I think it was done in good faith, wanting to put a check on the Judicial Power by creating these bodies that politicians lead,” he said, but added that their nature has now changed radically.
The lawyer specifically referenced the selection of Aldo Cantero to a judicial panel. “Both Deny Yoon Pak and the rest of the people who were prosecutors and who investigated part of the mafia in Paraguay (they are already known) know well who they should not mess with,” Granada Salaberry stated, implying that certain figures are not genuinely chosen through a fair process. He warned that Cantero will now serve as a judge and that “they already know which judge to go to for miracles in the sciences of law.”
Granada Salaberry estimated that 50 to 70 percent of prosecutors and magistrates remain uncorrupted, but said they are “all hidden, fearful, just waiting to retire and get out of here.” He recalled that he himself had denounced González Daher, who was once all-powerful, and asserted that “today we have another type, but the scheme still works.”
The remarks come amid ongoing scrutiny of the Consejo de la Magistratura's role in judicial appointments. Ultima Hora reported the lawyer's comments without providing independent corroboration of the claims.