Deputy Raúl Benítez (independent) took the floor on Tuesday to demand explanations from colleague Édgar Olmedo, the Chamber of Deputies' representative on the Magistrates Council (CM), for voting in favor of including prosecutor Aldo Cantero on the shortlist for criminal judge in Asunción. Cantero is controversial due to leaked messages in which Horacio Cartes's lawyer, Pedro Ovelar, allegedly ordered him to carry out proceedings.
“I want to understand how one can sustain a vote for a bought, rented magistrate, whose leaked chats show Horacio Cartes's lawyer ordering how to open a fiscal file,” Benítez said. He classified Cantero as a “hired hitman” and said Olmedo's vote tarnishes the Chamber's image, since the deputy acts on behalf of the body, not personally.
Benítez also questioned why Olmedo did not support prosecutor Deny Yoon Pak, responsible for emblematic investigations such as the A Ultranza Py case and the arrest of former senator Erico Galeano. “In this country, those who do the work are not rewarded; those who follow orders are rewarded. Magistrates like Deny Yoon Pak are punished, and lowlifes like Aldo Cantero are rewarded,” he fired.
In response, Olmedo stated that Cantero has no legal impediment to being on the shortlist and that his file was “impeccable.” He said he would not defend Cantero, but that he based himself on the rules. Olmedo ignored the question about the exclusion of Yoon Pak.
The shortlist, released on May 11, includes Aldo Rodrigo Cantero Colmán (seven votes), Osvaldo Ariel Prates Grassi (seven votes), and Eladio Tomás Cubilla Yahari (five votes). The proposal came from CM president Gerardo Bobadilla and was supported by Alicia Pucheta, Enrique Berni, César Ruffinelli, Gustavo Miranda, Senator Édgar López, and Olmedo himself.