At the request of the defense and with the endorsement of the Attorney General’s Office (FGR), a federal judge of the North Prison authorized to change the precautionary measure of preventive detention imposed for almost a year and a half on former PAN Senator Jorge Luis Lavalle Maury and, with it, to continue his process in freedom.
In a hearing held yesterday at the Federal Criminal Justice Center of the prison, Judge Marco Antonio Fuerte Tapia accepted the arguments presented by prosecutors and lawyers, regarding that chronic health problems suffered by the former legislator (such as severe complications from a hiatal hernia) make his release necessary.
In place of pretrial detention, the judge ordered that Lavalle be fitted with an electronic bracelet to monitor his location. It also prevented him from leaving the country while his process unfolds, they confirmed to Political Animal judicial authorities.
The former senator was the only one arrested so far for the complaint filed three years ago by the former director of Pemex, Emilio Lozoya, regarding the alleged bribes with Odebrecht resources to approve the energy reform. These are accusations that so far have not been proven either in the case of Lavalle or in that of any other accused.
It was last week when the senator’s defense informed the FGR that it was necessary to urgently modify the precautionary measure, since Lavalle requires medical treatments that can only be applied in hospital centers outside the prison. His condition has also been aggravated by hypertension problems.
After verifying the information, the prosecutors asked the control judge to summon a hearing to review precautionary measures, where they presented and endorsed the request made by defense lawyers Humberto Venegas, Felipe Gómez Mont and José Zapata.
Although the representative of the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) – which serves as legal advisor in the process – opposed the change of precautionary measure, the judge accepted the arguments of Lavalle’s lawyers and prosecutors, and considered it appropriate to cease pretrial detention for the medical reasons stated.
What’s next with Lavalle?
After the judge’s endorsement, last night they began the legal and technical procedures necessary for the installation of the electronic geolocation device that the former senator must carry in a mandatory manner. It is a procedure that, depending on the company that is the supplier, can take a maximum of a few days.
This does not modify the criminal proceedings against the former senator for the crimes of alleged bribery, criminal association and money laundering, and which is in a phase of extension of the period of complementary investigation, which expires on October 14.
This is an extension that the judge granted after the defense explained that there was still a lack of evidence to be collected, including those related to the financial operations of Fabiola Tapia, a businesswoman who allegedly was the intermediary in the payment of bribes.
Once the period of complementary investigation ends, the FGR must define whether to present the final accusation against the former senator and request that he be put on trial. If this is the case, the supervisory judge will convene an intermediate hearing for each of the parties to present the evidence.
And what about Lozoya?
The former director of Pemex in the government of Enrique Peña Nieto has been imprisoned since last November in the same North Prison. Last January, the prosecutor’s office formally accused him of having received bribes from Odebrecht and the company Altos Hornos, and has asked that he be prosecuted and sentenced to more than 60 years in prison.
However, the processes have not yet reached the trial phase because Lozoya’s defense seeks an agreement with Pemex and the FGR that allows him to free the process, in exchange for the delivery of goods and several tens of millions of pesos as compensation for the damage. The negotiation so far is still ongoing.
Lozoya has also sought that the FGR suspend the criminal process against him and grant him a criterion of opportunity as a benefit for the complaint he filed in August 2019, pointing out the bribes for the approval of the energy reform. The problem is that, so far, prosecutors have failed to bring any of the people targeted to trial.
The federal judge responsible for the proceedings against Lozoya has already scheduled two hearings in November, so that it will be no later than that date when it will be defined if the accusations presented are suspended or if the cases are already advancing to the trial phase.
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