The creation of a security academy as well as of an elite unit denominated Department against Terrorism - both under the direct control of the Security Council head Rolando Lopez - has raised concerns that the persecution of political adversaries of the current government will intensify.
According to Alejandro Perez, it is no coincidence that President Juan Carlos Varela should be issuing Mr. Lopez with new special powers, right at the moment when the government is facing a serious crisis in its popularity. Indeed, more and more people are questioning President Varela's style of government.
Mr. Perez believes that Rolando Lopez is the mastermind behind the political persecution leveled at former officials who served in the previous administration. In the past two years, anti-corruption prosecutors have ordered the preventive detention of a number of former officials, only to see them quashed in courts of law. Judges have been very critical of the harsh and arbitrary way in which prosecutors have chosen to apply the law.
In Mr. Perez's view, one of the main objectives of the campaign of persecution orchestrated by the Security Council, has been to setup a judicial case against former President Ricardo Martinelli. An example of that was the persecution of former Security Council agents Rony Rodríguez and William Pitti. Mr. Perez also denounced the manipulation of protected witnesses, who have been forced to testify against former government officials.
Alongside lawyer Roniel Ortiz, Mr. Peres raise questions over the manner in which the investigation into supposed illegal wire-tapping started in the offices of the executive Secretary of Security Council, where the current Atty. general Kenia Porcell used to work as legal counsel.
An academy for the persecution of political opponents President Juan Carlos Varela approved the creation of an academy aimed at training intelligence agents for the purpose of national security in the official gazette on Friday, July 22.
According to Mr. Perez, this new body would give Mr. Lopez special powers over and above any other government security official. This is in virtue of the fact that the academy would be responsible for training units which would subsequently be placed in other security bodies, charged with overseeing fellow security personnel.
Mr. Perez considers that the Security Council is not entitled to carry out such training for national security matters. This is because such duty pertains to the national police force, which is uniquely responsible for the training of personnel across all areas, including intelligence.
The official name of the new body is the Technical Academy of Intelligence and National Security. Its remit will be to train Security Council agents as well as personnel across other security entities.
In the same official gazette publication, the government announced the creation of the Department against Terrorism, which will be headed by a director and will be subordinated to a Committee for the Prevention of Terrorism. All of this will be under the direct authority of the Security Council chief, Rolando Lopez.
One of the primary objectives of these new arms of the Security Council will be monitoring natural and juridical persons suspected of any involvement with terrorism.
The information collected will be available for sharing with other countries, according to Decree 324 signed into law by President Varela and his minister for the presidency. The decree also established the creation of a national list of suspected terrorists.
