Luis Moranelli
05/14/2021 4:55 PM
Clarín.com
Police
Updated 05/14/2021 4:55 PM
“Get ready, in five minutes I'll come to look for you. You go".
The prison guard's words bounced off the cold cell walls.
He had no time for questions.
He put the mate, the blanket and the pants in a bag.
And he sat down to wait.
You don't know how long it took them to open the door for you.
"For me it was years," says
Luis Alberto Robledo (38), a dairy delivery man who spent 91 days in prison and was about to be extradited to Germany.
In that country they accuse him of being part of a gang that trafficked cocaine, although he
swears that he is innocent and denounces that his identity was stolen
.
“Beto's” nightmare began on January 28.
Around 3:30 a.m., he left his house in Laferrere, in La Matanza, on his way to work.
He was struck by the sight of a white Toyota parked on the same block that he did not recognize.
He was more concerned when he found that same car when he arrived at Isidro Casanova's warehouse where he removes the truck every day to make the delivery.
Robledo in the dairy product delivery truck.
He has worked for the same company for 16 years.
“I went to the police station, which is five blocks away, because I thought they wanted to rob me.
I returned accompanied by a patrolman who asked the occupants of the car to identify themselves.
That's when they said they were from
Interpol
and that they were looking for me, ”Robledo tells
Clarín
.
They handcuffed him, took out his cell phone and wallet, and took him to the Federal Police premises in Palermo.
It was his co-workers who were in charge of telling his family what was happening.
He was held incommunicado for 48 hours.
“Being in an isolated place,
all the time alone, without talking to anyone
, was horrendous.
Thousands of things happened in my head.
I was scared for my family, ”he recalls.
What happened next has different versions. Robledo assures that he opposed the extradition and that when he was investigated he said he was innocent. “They accused me of being part of a gang that trafficked liquid cocaine from Uruguay. I've been working for the same company for 16 years.
I never left the country.
Just last year I made a trip to Córdoba by plane. All life in Laferrere. From Capital I know the Obelisk and Villa Lugano for making the distribution. I have
a '97 model car
and with my salary I support my three children, 12, 15 and 17 years old. I tried to explain all that but nobody listened to me ”, he is indignant.
His current lawyer, Guillermo Baqué, maintains that he was
poorly advised
and that he unknowingly gave consent for him to be sent to Germany.
In an express procedure, federal judge Ernesto Rodríguez handed down a sentence and
approved the extradition
.
From the Federal Court No. 2 of Morón they explained to
Clarín
that Robledo could reject the extradition and await the formal request from Germany, although they confirmed that he did not.
For this reason, they explain, their situation was quickly resolved and the trip to Berlin was given the green light.
The resistance
That was the beginning of a long struggle by his family to make the case visible.
They cut off the Dellepiane Highway, launched a social media campaign, and got the story out in the media.
But the fate of "Beto" was sealed.
The extradition was
scheduled for April 26
and Interpol agents who were to accompany them had even been designated.
His lawyer filed a claim with the Foreign Ministry.
He verified that the Luis Alberto Robledo wanted by the German Justice had the same document number and reported that it was identity theft.
“The person they were looking for had at least eight trips outside of Argentina between 2010 and 2013. There is evidence that Luis never left the country.
There are records that on all those dates he was working, ”says Baqué.
The demonstration of family and friends of Robledo, on the Dellepiane Highway.
When it seemed that there was hope of reversing the failure, the bad news returned.
Robledo was taken from his cell and taken to the warden of the Palace of Justice.
From there to the
Marcos Paz prison
.
“The transfer was with 20 people who have already gone through this situation.
I didn't know how to handle myself.
They asked me why I was there and I didn't know what to say, ”he says.
Due to the protocols of the pandemic, he had to spend 15 days in isolation before being transferred to a ward.
It was his
purgatory
: “I didn't know where they were going to send me or how I was going to survive.
I spent a week like this until they released me ”.
Robledo left jail on April 29, after the Foreign Ministry reviewed the case and
reversed the extradition
.
“They understood that they were going to send an innocent man to defend himself as best he could to Germany and they realized that the requirements demanded by law had not been met, since in any case he had the right as an Argentine citizen to be tried by the Justice of his country ”, explains his lawyer.
Judicial and Foreign Ministry sources confirmed to
Clarín
that after the intervention of the diplomatic area the judicial ruling was suspended, since it is a criminal-administrative procedure that needs
the approval of both parties
.
Homecoming
Outside of jail, "Beto" was greeted by Roxana, her partner, and her sisters.
When he got home he was met by an
unexpected welcome from his neighbors
.
“It was something exciting.
I never imagined so much affection from people.
They trust me because they know my family.
Nobody doubted who we are, working people ”.
The dairy company retained his position and hopes that he will rejoin.
He has not yet done so because he caught the
coronavirus
and is isolated.
“
I'm still scared to go outside
.
I used to love driving and want to spend as much time as possible at home.
They tell me to relax but I still can't, ”he explains.
Beyond his fears, he wants his life back.
“My employers kept part of my salary but it was hard for my family.
They had to hire lawyers, take my food to the police station.
This year
I could not even buy a tool for my children
to start classes, "he laments.
Although his lawyer assures him that he will not have any more legal problems, he feels that everything can change from one moment to another: “There is a person using my name.
If they investigated they would have realized that I am innocent.
They never raided me, they didn't check my accounts.
If they notified me, I would have presented myself because I had nothing to hide.
They wanted to make a circus, they chased me like I was a drug dealer.
It was very easy to find me.
I was at work or at home ”.
As it is a case that is being processed in Germany, Robledo has no pending accounts in Argentina. He knows that
he cannot leave the country
, because an Interpol red alert is still
hanging
over him. "It makes me angry because my name is stained, but I am not worried about not being able to travel," he ironizes, looking to smile again after the worst three months of his life.
