Prosecutor Luis Javier Santos asks not to remain silent in the face of acts of corruption

The head of the Specialized Unit Against Corruption Networks (Uferco), Luis Javier Santos , made a strong call to anti-corruption fighters in Honduras not to remain silent in the face of corruption cases and the actions being undertaken by the Public Ministry.

In an interview with a media outlet on Thursday night, Santos said that “most of them call themselves fighters against corruption and, with all due respect, I don’t want to disassociate myself from them, but I want to call their attention to not being silent in the face of acts of corruption, in the face of the actions that the Public Prosecutor’s Office is taking.”

In his remarks, Santos expressed his discontent with the passive stance of some sectors, highlighting that anti-corruption advocates do not take a position on current cases.

“They remain completely silent. So, I believe that this, rather than benefiting, harms the fight against corruption in our country,” said the prosecutor.

The Uferco prosecutor was challenged by the defense of presidential candidate Nasry Asfura, Dagoberto Aspra, to remove himself from the process in which ‘Papi a la Orden’ is accused of embezzlement of public funds and money laundering for 28 million lempiras.

The challenge has not yet been accepted by the Criminal Courts for Organized Crime, the Environment and Corruption in Tegucigalpa.

The case against the former mayor of the capital has been classified as political persecution by the opposition; however, regarding the accusations that he acts under a political banner, Santos responded that the investigative processes of the Public Ministry follow a strict protocol.

“First of all, for this statement to be true, the allegations must be fabricated (…), whoever says this does not know what procedure is followed in the Public Prosecutor’s Office to investigate certain allegations,” he said.

Santos also explained that Uferco’s investigations are based on a rigorous selection process implemented by the now defunct Mission to Support the Fight against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH), together with the Public Prosecutor’s Office and international experts.

It is worth mentioning that Uferco replaced the Special Prosecutor’s Unit against Impunity in Corruption (Ufecic), created by MACCIH and the Public Prosecutor’s Office.

“All the complaints that we have in our possession were selected by the MACCIH and were selected through a rigorous procedure established between the Attorney General’s Office, the MACCIH and the international experts, who were the ones who determined by voting which file or complaint should be brought to be investigated by the judges,” he explained.

Finally, the prosecutor concluded by defending the impartiality of the process.

“We work without first identifying who is responsible. There is a final stage where we determine who is going to be held responsible and bring them before the courts.”