Judge Yoan Paul López of the Guarantees Court has ordered the definitive dismissal of all charges against former National Directorate of Civil Aviation (Dinac) president Edgar Melgarejo Ginard and four co-defendants in the so-called “golden face masks” case, according to a report by Ultima Hora.
The ruling, issued on May 14, 2026, complies with a June 14, 2024 decision by the Third Chamber of the Criminal Appeals Tribunal, which annulled the accusation filed by Deputy Prosecutor Soledad Machuca and ordered the case dismissed. The appellate panel, in a majority opinion by judges Cristóbal Sánchez and Gustavo Auadre, found that Machuca’s April 28, 2023 accusation “substantially departed” from the facts laid out in the original indictment of April 30, 2020, thereby denying the defendants the opportunity for prior questioning on the new allegations.
In addition to Melgarejo, the dismissal benefits Juan Carlos Turitich Báez, Marcelo Rubén Ovelar, Fernando José Gallardo, and Luz María Chamorro Báez. Judge López noted that the appellate ruling became final after the Supreme Court’s Criminal Chamber, on November 12, 2025, declared the prosecution’s cassation appeal inadmissible.
Upon receiving the case file, López not only dismissed the charges and lifted all precautionary measures but also stated that the proceedings “did not affect the good name and reputation” of any of the accused.
The case, widely known as the “tapabocas de oro” scandal, involved allegations of overpriced purchases of face masks by Dinac during the COVID-19 pandemic. The dismissal marks the end of a protracted legal battle that saw the initial indictment challenged on procedural grounds.