They order the arrest of Norman Quijano, deputy of the Parlacen

Extreme espionage on journalists in El Salvador, according to victim 1:50

(CNN Spanish) --

The First Criminal Chamber of San Salvador ordered this Tuesday the arrest of Norman Quijano, current deputy of the Central American Parliament (Parlacen), for allegedly committing the crimes of illegal groups and electoral fraud.

According to the Salvadoran Attorney General's Office, an investigation revealed Quijano's possible ties to gangs in exchange for electoral support during the 2014 campaign. Quijano was at the time a presidential candidate for the conservative Alianza Republicana Nacionalista, Arena.

Last December, the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador stripped Quijano of the constitutional immunity that his parliamentary privileges gave him.

The magistrates of the Chamber also ordered that the criminal process go to the next phase, according to the Attorney General's Office on its Twitter account.

The Prosecutor's Office describes Quijano as a "fugitive."

After the ruling ordering his capture, Quijano has not reacted and CNN tried to contact him by phone, without receiving a response until Tuesday.

His attorney also did not respond to a request for comment.

In May 2021, when the criminal accusation was filed, Quijano confirmed that he was outside Salvadoran territory and at that time, through his Twitter account, he denied the accusations because, according to him, they were based on false accusations.

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• Court orders arrest of former deputy Norman Quijano for alleged gang links

"At the time it is required, I will present myself to show my face, because as I have always said, and those who know me know, I am innocent," Quijano said in a tweet.

However, Quijano did not return to El Salvador.

According to the Prosecutor's Office, Quijano appears in a video released in December 2019 by the specialized sentencing judge of San Salvador in which he is seen in a meeting in which he promises that, if he won, the presidency would invest US$100 million in reinsertion. of gang members

Quijano was also mayor of San Salvador between 2009 and 2015, president of the Legislative Assembly and deputy between 2018 and 2021. He is pointed out by the witness with a criterion of opportunity identified with the code "Noé".

His testimony was essential to convict 373 gang members in December 2019.

Noé told the authorities that this video was recorded during a meeting with gang members.

Quijano has rejected those accusations.

According to his version, it was a meeting with pastors from different churches.

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