Spying details revealed in Martinelli trial

On Monday, July 26, the fourth day of the espionage trial of former president Ricardo Martinelli,    Júbilo Grael, who worked in the National Security Council (CSN) from 2009 to 2019, gave details of the monitoring of Mitchell Doens, Balbina Herrera, Mauro Zúñiga and Raisa Banfield between 2009 and 2014.  

Grael said that the order to follow the “targets” was received directly from Ronny Rodríguez, former deputy director of the CSN and who has never appeared at the trial, as he is a fugitive.

In the case of Zúñiga, he said that the purpose was to let him know that he was being followed.

Super 99

He also testified that he and his partner Javier Quirós were ordered to move a CSN shelf to the offices of the Super 99 in Monte Oscuro, but first he and Rodríguez, Quirós went to the Presidency of the Republic. There, Rodríguez got out and talked for several minutes.

Grael’s version was ratified by Javier Quirós, who also served as a witness for the prosecution.

The prosecution also presented as witnesses Nicolás Escudero and Jesús González, from the Liberty Technology company, in charge of installing an internet system at the CSN.

According to the theory supported by prosecutor Ricaurte González, the adjustments were used for the operation of the Pegasus system, used to spy on the “targets” through the CSN. Pegasus was one of three software used to spy on and track politicians, businessmen, trade unionists, journalists, and other civil society actors.

The Trial Court admitted eight pieces of evidence to the prosecution: four testimonials and four documentaries. “The relevance of the last two witnesses was that they give certainty of how they received instructions. There was a public order division that had as part of its management to verify, monitor, all those activities that were generated in the city and the rest of the country. What impact can it have for the security of the country that four people are followed, including two of them in restaurants? What was in the Security Council was a parallel office (…); It has already been indicated who gave the instructions and who was the number one who was indicated by the witness, ”said the prosecutor when leaving the trial.

Martinelli said “So much money wasted on this political bullshit. Everything is rigged, everything is falsified, this is a waste of time.”