Former Secretary of Intelligence of the Correa government sentenced in case of kidnapping

Former Ecuadorian Intelligence Secretary Pablo Romero Quezada guarded by authorities. (Credit: Government of Ecuador)

(CNN Spanish) - Pablo Romero, former Secretary of Intelligence during Rafael Correa's presidency, was sentenced this Friday to nine years in prison for the kidnapping of opposition activist Fernando Balda.

As reported by the State Attorney General's Office, a court of the National Court of Justice convicted Romero as the mediator of the crime of aggravated kidnapping against Balda, which occurred in 2012 in Bogotá.

The Office of the Prosecutor added that it was able to demonstrate "the materiality of the offense and the participation of the convicted person in the kidnapping." Also, it was proven that public funds from a special account of the Intelligence Secretariat were used to carry out the crime.

During the trial hearing, Stalin Oviedo, Romero's lawyer, said that he would prove the innocence of his client. And after the sentence, Oviedo denounced in statements to the media that this process responds to a political issue, that there are disagreements in the justification of the sentence and that the defense will present an appeal.

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In this case, former President Rafael Correa is also prosecuted as a possible intellectual author of the kidnapping, according to the Prosecutor's Office. Correa, who has resided in Belgium since 2017, is not included in the sentence, since for the crime of “aggravated kidnapping”, justice requires the presence of the accused in the country.

Correa has denied the charges and assures that the case was a "set up" by the government of President Lenín Moreno to prevent his return to Ecuador.

Romero was extradited from Spain in February at the request of the judicial authorities. After his arrest, Romero said that his right to defense was violated and described the case as a "show staged as a trial."

In addition to the sentence, the court ordered the placement of a plaque in the Strategic Intelligence Center (formerly SENAIN) stating: "The country's intelligence and counterintelligence system can never be designed to persecute citizens, but rather to protect them," as stated. to know the National Court of Justice.

Rafael Correa