The Chief of the Corrientes Police referred to the multiple investigative tasks to find the child of July 9. He commented on the coordinated work with other forces of the Province and neighboring districts, while detailing the situation of those troops who may be involved in the case.
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The head of the Corrientes Police, Arnaldo Molina, was interviewed on the program La Otra Campana, which is broadcast simultaneously on LT 7 Radio Corrientes and LT 25 Radio Guaraní, from Curuzú Cuatiá.
In a pleasant conversation with journalist Gustavo Adolfo Ojeda, the official explained the mysterious disappearance of the boy Loan Peña, in the town of 9 de Julio, and the efforts to find him.
How do the operations to find Loan continue?
-Look, from the first moment an important operation to search and search for the boy has been started throughout the rural area, there in the area, and we have intensified it with all the human resources and means that the Police have. The search was carried out by air with high-tech drones, the search was carried out with people search dogs, the search was also carried out in a linear manner with the different human resources that were available at that time, also on horseback, the division of Cavalry, and well, unfortunately so far we can’t find it. For good reason and it is public knowledge that the judicial case that is carrying out the investigation, the Goya Prosecutor’s Office, has taken a different hypothesis and has also taken a different course regarding the investigation. We are collaborating with the Prosecutor’s Office, with the Investigations Directorate, with the Complex Crime Directorate, with the Human Trafficking and Search Directorate, and we make available all the resources required by the Prosecutor for the investigation of this case.
Thus, different raids were carried out, both on July 9 and in other cities, and all the arrests that were made were carried out by the Police of the Province of Corrientes, and it is also the case that, as auxiliaries of Justice We are the ones who collaborate immediately. The search will continue because it is a first hypothesis that had been handled and now another hypothesis appears that is supported by other evidence, but the search will continue until Loan appears. Although it is true that it will be a search that is already focused and in specific places that Justice requires, or that we see that it may be a place that requires a double inspection, but we are going to continue. The special groups continue on July 9, they are not going to withdraw from there and neither will the Head of the regional unit who is in charge of this search. In addition, the change of Police Station Chief on July 9 was ordered, and today there is a Chief Commissioner also in charge of the department, so that the provision of services that is public security continues to function.
The situation of Commissioner Maciel, how is it? He was removed from office, but there are new judicial instances, surely if the investigation continues, new events could emerge with the Commissioner General.
-Maciel’s situation is that at this moment he is at the disposal of Justice and obviously, the Prosecutor is the one who is going to look for sufficient elements to investigate the official in his non-compliance, surely, or in the figure that has it present in the file . The resolution of the administrative summary and the passivity of this official was ordered because he is at the disposal of Justice and his release was immediately ordered. Therefore, today, Maciel is at the disposal of Justice.
I think about the new code that addresses all these issues, where it is the Prosecutor who directs the investigation and where the Police play a secondary role, right?
-Look, you said it very well. We have in the Province of Corrientes an accusatory code in which the figure of direction in a criminal investigation is held exclusively by the prosecutor and we are the immediate collaborators as auxiliaries of Justice, but the prosecutor is the one who directs the criminal process and who drives all the procedural steps. Obviously, we are collaborators and we comply with the requirements made to us. But also, on the other hand, the Police of the Province of Corrientes in its operational aspect has the power and the predisposition and the feasibility of the function to be able to search in places that it considers necessary or that must be observed again. That is why all human and material resources are made available for the search for Loan and with regard to the precise instructions that the prosecutor may give us, we immediately comply with the same.
There are procedures and raids in the province of Chaco for the Loan case. As a police institution, do you have any type of collaboration, contact, do you exchange data with the Chaco Police?
-We are collaborating and we are working jointly and articulately with all the Police of the province, with all the Police of Argentina and also with the federal forces as established by the Ministry’s law and any data that arises is immediately reported. inform the competent jurisdictional authority so that they can carry out the respective investigations. Thus, raids are actually being carried out in Chaco by order of the Goya Prosecutor’s Office and we are working in an articulated and joint manner with all the Police. Thus, I also want to thank all those provinces that sent their personnel in collaboration, called Entre Ríos, Chaco, Córdoba, Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Misiones, who sent their trained personnel to implement and organize the search for Loan.
Being an area bordering other countries, the contribution of federal forces is also important.
-Exact. Allow me also to thank the federal force, Gendarmerie, Prefecture, Army, Federal Police, who were present and working at the site at the express direction of the Minister of Security and the reward program was also activated for anyone who has any information. And in this I also want to express the concern of the Ministry of Security in trying to find Loan and of the Governor, who put all the resources available to the Ministry of Security to find the boy who until this moment is not appearing.
Following the case of Commissioner Maciel, the question is, does the Police have a specific direction to deal with events that involve men or women of the force?
-In the Police Headquarters there is a department called the Internal Affairs Directorate, where all administrative offenses that the police officer may violate are investigated and in that regard, if some violations of what the law on police personnel and the Police regulations, investigations begin immediately and obviously conclude with a sanction or dismissal if sufficient evidence is not found to hold him accountable. But we have the Internal Affairs Directorate that is currently engaged in the investigation to find out what Maciel’s conduct was in this action, right? So those investigations have already been put into practice and work is being done.
Due to these types of cases, partisan or destabilizing issues are often mixed in fair citizen demonstrations. Are you paying attention to that?
-Yes, we are more attentive from the point of view of protecting the physical integrity of those who attend the march, because they have the right to do so. Free expression is clearly established by the Constitution and we, obviously, as those responsible for public security and assistants to the investigation also and jointly with the Prosecutor’s Office, we are in full contact with Loan’s relatives and we explain to them step by step all the procedural steps and operational work that is being carried out. In the case of procedural proceedings, the Prosecutor does it, and in the case of operational work, the places we are visiting, the area, the places we are inspecting, we inform the family that they also have the right to know what the issues are. and what the police are doing to find Loan.
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