In the end, former head of intelligence Ronny Rodriguez broke his silence. From his secret hiding place in the mountainous regions of the country, Mr. Rodriguez issued a sworn declaration regarding the infamous wire-tapping case for which he is also being investigated.
In his testimony, Mr. Rodriguez accused the country's Security Council of resorting to psychological torture, resulting in the death of a security agent codenamed "Jimmy". The purpose of the setup was plain: to persuade former agents to incriminate former President Ricardo Martinelli in exchange for "protected witness" status.
Mr. Rodriguez identified three high ranking officials as key members of the plot: all currently occupy critical positions in the country’s security apparatus. These are: Alexis Bethancourt, the current security minister; Rolando Lopez, head of the country's security council; and Omar Pinzon, director of the national police.
In his declarations, Mr. Rodriguez referred to two meetings in which he was offered cushy jobs in exchange for providing false, incriminating evidence against former president Martinelli.
The first meeting with security council director Rolando Lopez occurred in May 2014, during the transition period. "As soon as Varela won the elections, the newly appointed director of national security, Rolando Lopez, called upon me and offered me a diplomatic position Washington, DC, at the Inter-American Defense Board".
There followed a second meeting, this time in the executive offices of the national police, in which three people were present: Rolando Lopez, Omar Pinzon and Alexis Bethancourt.
“Mr. Lopez addressed me by saying that he could take me to see President Juan Carlos Varela there and then, and that the president would offer me whatever I wanted in return for incriminating former President Martinelli", Mr. Rodriguez declared.
Before that second fateful meeting, Mr. Rodriguez had received phone calls from three other former intelligence agents: Ismael Pitti, William Pitti and a third unnamed agent, who has since died as a result of the pressures that the government exerted on him. In their conversations, the three agents confirmed that they too had received similar pressures to declare against former President Martinelli in the wire-tapping case.
Mr. Rodríguez recalled with perfect clarity some of the things that were said during that second meeting. “If you incriminate Ricardo Martinelli, we will give you protected witness status", he was told, something that the new government could feasibly carry out given their control of the Atty. General's office as of January 2015.
As Mr. Rodriguez refused such advances, the pressure began to grow. Having been called upon by Mr. Lopez for yet another meeting, Mr. Rodriguez revealed how the latter threatened him with prosecution, dismissal from the national police as well as the removal of his retirement pension.
“We will lock you up in the Joya and you will not last a week", was one of the threats that Mr. Rodriguez revealed in his sworn declaration: all for refusing to incriminate former President Martinelli.
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