Trial of the century –  Dream Team vs weakened prosecution

In two weeks the hearing of the Odebrecht case will be held, a trial postponed last month when almost all of Ricardo Martinelli’s dream team and his close circle let the country see what they are made of. On September 12, 80 defendants and their lawyers will face prosecutors. And, due to the way in which some defendants express themselves about the judge in the case –Baloisa Marquínez– it seems that they fear for her fate.

But it will not be an easy thing for Marquínez, since it must be recognized that the Public Ministry (MP) –of its own volition– has allowed itself to be beaten, displacing the prosecutors who shaped the case. Even former attorney Eduardo Ulloa chose an outspoken Martinelli supporter as his personal assistant. And I don’t think the current attorney will do much to get the organization he represents to present itself with all the strength that he possesses. And if he loses this, the trial of the century, shouldn’t Caraballo resign out of sheer shame? Unless the judge correctly assesses the numerous pieces of evidence against the defendants in the file, I do not see the main defendants in jail.

It is not that there is a lack of evidence and testimony against him. What is needed is a will, desire, enthusiasm, courage, and empowerment. And we miss all of that because local politics and its corruption often kill the passion of prosecutors and judges to do the right thing. The murderous weapons are basically two and, in extreme cases, up to three: fear, money and extortion. Powerful weapons, especially if the first two don’t work.

I know that the trial of the century has two battle fronts: a public one, the formal stage; the other is already waged in dark settings, under tables, clandestine meetings or through messengers carrying threats or pleas. This front has been developing for some time, with desperate strategies that include precisely the same weapons and protagonists. But this battlefield differs from that of punctures. Although the MP goes to war with deliberately decimated troops, the battlefield in the Judicial Branch seems unusually wild for the dream team.

Until now, and judging by the desperate reaction of the boy scouts, those who put their hands more than their legs, their dark battles have been lost. Even the help of his high-ranking friends has been of little use, who have achieved little in his favor. But don’t underestimate them. One of those defendants has proven to be effective in the use of his weapons.

Who will win the war? I would like my bet on the outcome of this trial to be a millionaire in faith, but what I will put on the table is everything I have left after too many defeats: a microscopic part of what I had. What I do know for sure is that, when the time comes, the government of Laurentino Cortizo will be remembered for the outcome of the trial of the century. This is his prosecutor of him… and his magistrates. – Rolando Rodriguez B … La Prensa