corruption

Delgado will be investigated

The Attorney General has started an investigation into allegations of corruption and concealment involving Ministro de Gobierno y Justicia, Daniel Delgado Diamante.

The complaint was lodged with the Ministerio Público on April 8. It was filed by Edwin Aldeano, director of the Tratado de Asistencia Legal Mutual (TALM) office, which is part of the Ministerio de Gobierno.

Aldeano filed his complaint because he had been denied a request to investigate a TALM employee who had not been showing up for work. When Diamante declined to investigate the employee's continued absence, Aldeano turned to the Ministerio Público.

Shortly after the complaint was filed, Delgado ordered that Aldeano be placed on vacation leave for three months. On April 13, Aldeano returned to the Ministerio Público and expanded his original complaint.

The file was turned over to Attorney General Ana Matilde Gómez because the Ministerio Público does not have jurisdiction over cases involving government ministers.

"The investigation should determine if indeed this was an irregular act that should be considered to be malicious or a situation that is administrative in nature," Gómez said.

Gómez also voiced support for a "whistleblower" law that would protect government employees who report possible corruption cases.

"The state must provide public employees a shield to allow them to denounce an act of corruption without risking their jobs," she said.