Helga Lizany Concepción Solís Gómez, the niece of deceased lawmaker Eulalio “Lalo” Gomes, voluntarily turned herself in to police in Pedro Juan Caballero and was transferred to Asunción. The former prosecutor’s office assistant is under investigation, along with four current and former employees of the National Anti-Drug Secretariat (SENAD), for alleged criminal association, influence peddling, frustrating criminal prosecution and dereliction of duty by an official responsible for preventing crimes.
Solís Gómez, 40, appeared Tuesday night at the regional unit of the Department Against Organized Crime, accompanied by attorney Marco Antonio López Bogarín. She had been sought at her residence during an operation carried out a day earlier. The Public Prosecutor’s Office requested her pretrial detention; the decision will be made by Judge Humberto Otazú, who is replacing Judge Osmar Legal.
The investigation began with an analysis of messages extracted from Gomes’s cellphone and of documents and expert examinations concerning institutional communications. Prosecutors’ hypothesis is that Solís Gómez used contacts built while she worked at the Public Prosecutor’s Office to obtain confidential information, influence decisions and favor people linked to the so-called Gomes clan. The accusations remain provisional and will be examined during the proceedings.
One of the episodes cited is Operation Sanctus, carried out in December 2023 to capture Brazilian national Ronaldo Mendes Nunes. According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, information about the operation was allegedly leaked, allowing the suspect to escape, and efforts were subsequently allegedly made to prevent Lalo Gomes’s name from appearing in connection with the case. Alleged alterations to a 2019 police record and interference in other investigations are also mentioned.
In addition to Solís Gómez, charges were brought against Hugo Derlis Baptista Báez, former director general for anti-drug operations; Cristian Porfirio Amarilla Cabaña, former intelligence director; Colonel Aldo Osmar Pintos Martínez, former commander of the Special Forces; and Alicia Marlene Vázquez Samaniego, who was linked to the organized-crime investigation area. Prosecutors maintain that the officials allegedly provided sensitive data and helped obstruct proceedings related to drug trafficking and money laundering.
Amarilla was the first of the five to appear before the authorities. His lawyer, Francisco de Vargas, denies that his client exchanged messages or calls with Gomes and says there is no direct link between the two in the data analyzed. The defense also challenges the pretrial detention, offered a property as security and argues that the former director could face risks in a regular prison because he took part in operations against criminal organizations.
SENAD Minister Jalil Rachid described the charges as a “blow” against the institution and his administration. He said the allegations came from a former internal structure and questioned the Public Prosecutor’s Office’s actions. These statements are disputed by the prosecutors’ investigative line, which attributes a possible institutional protection network around Gomes to the accused.