For four years, the investigation of Odebrecht, initiated by the PGR, then FGR in charge of Alejandro Gertz Manero, so far has not had any high-level sentenced. The justified preventive detention against Emilio “L” is just a first step in a tortuous investigation, which, when compared to the results of similar cases abroad, falls short.
The Odebrecht case in Mexico is not unique, the construction company has left a trail of investigations and arrests in Latin America that, compared to the Emilio “L” case, is just one of the ends of the skein. And it is that the network of management of millionaire resources is enormous in the country and in experiences in other latitudes.
The now guest of the North Reclusorio, revealed in a statement that the case is of long-term dimensions and he is not the only one involved: “what happens is that it is not convenient for many to know the truth. Those who really benefited (from the bribes) are free.”
The cases of corruption of Odebrecht, in Latin America, are multiple and reach a former president. In Brazil around 2014, to investigate and sanction cases of corruption linked to the construction company Odebrecht, a special group was created made up of prosecutors, federal police called Operation Lava Jato, it was a case of bribery by the Brazilian company Petrobras. By 2017, the special group had achieved convictions for 125 people. In the country of samba, 57 criminal proceedings were opened against 260 defendants. By then, convictions had been handed down in 25 trials for a total of 1,317 years in prison. By March 2020, after 6 years of work, the specialized team of Operation Lava Jato managed to report 500 people involved in acts of corruption.
Meanwhile, in Peru since 2018, a special team of prosecutors has been created, which has more than 35 open investigations and more than 250 people investigated for alleged bribes by the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht to officials and politicians. Even Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, being president of the Andean country, resigned before being subjected to an impeachment vote in Congress after his involvement in Odebrecht bribes in that nation was proven.
While in Argentina since 2018 the traces of bribes by the company began to be followed in which the money flowed into political campaigns, officials and from them, there were 172 defendants and seven prisoners.
What prosecutor Alejandro Gertz Manero has is an investigative morona, a detainee who for 16 months embraced a criterion of opportunity that extended the case as far as he could and only on Wednesday managed 30 more days to present evidence.
The plot of Odebrecht in Mexico must be considered in the making. Emilio “L” played his last card. He is in prison and he has already achieved disrepute unanimously and in the media it is an achievement for the fourteen but it is a mediocre result compared to other countries.