- The Attorney General, Tarek William Saab, made the appointment in a closed ceremony in his office, with the directors of the Public Ministry
On September 24, the Public Prosecutor’s Office announced the appointment of Colonel Elías Plasencia Mondragón as the new military attorney general. The appointment was made by the government’s attorney general, Tarek William Saab, at a ceremony in the meeting room of the institution’s office in Caracas, in the presence of all its general directors.
In a statement, Saab stressed that Plasencia’s appointment “opened a new framework for exchange and coordination” between the MP and the Military Prosecutor’s Office, especially in terms of internal resolutions, control and monitoring. The military official took over as a replacement for Major General José Daniel Maldonado.
“Always complying with our Magna Carta, the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, laws, regulations, current legal regulations, agreements and treaties; respecting at all times and as you (Saab) have taught us well, the constitutional guarantees, due process and the defense and protection of human rights, where you have proven to be a master,” declared Plasencia at his swearing-in.
The announcement
With the ceremony held in the Prosecutor’s meeting room, Plasencia formally assumes the position. However, the Military Public Prosecutor’s Office is an independent body from its civilian counterpart, and is governed by the Organic Code of Military Justice. The appointment of military prosecutors is the responsibility of the President of the Republic, or in this case, of Nicolás Maduro.
For this reason, on August 19, the ceremony for the delivery and reception of positions by the Minister of Defense, Vladimir Padrino López, was held. There, Plasencia was sworn in as military attorney general, while his predecessor, José Daniel Maldonado, has now become the presiding judge of the Martial Court and the Military Criminal Judicial Circuit.
Maldonado, in turn, replaces Major General Jesús Emilio Vásquez Quintero, who held these positions since September 2021 and is retiring due to seniority. The European Union sanctioned Vásquez Quintero in November 2022 for promoting internal judicial persecution in the Armed Forces and judging civilians in military courts when he was a prosecutor. For these services, Padrino López gave him a replica of Rafael Urdaneta’s sword during the ceremony on August 19.
Who is Elias Plasencia?
Elías Plasencia Mondragón belongs to the II Promotion of the Army “General in Chief Juan José Flores”, from which he graduated in 2000. Since then, he has dedicated himself to working within the Military Justice System and obtained his promotion to colonel in July 2021.
One of the first records of his activity can be traced back to resolution No. 8983 of the Ministry of Defense, dated December 11, 2008. According to Official Gazette No. 39,080, the then captain was appointed senior military prosecutor before the Military Criminal Judicial Circuit of Caracas. He appears to have remained in this position until his new appointment as military prosecutor general.
In November 2023, journalist Sebastiana Barráez published on the portal Infobae a report on arms smuggling by the General Directorate of Arms and Explosives (DAEX). There, he indicated that a large quantity of arms and ammunition has been lost in this military department in the last seven years, which has ended up in prisons under the control of the pranes.
The text specifically points to the director of the DAEX Weapons and Explosives Park, Colonel Juan Ernesto Barrios Villegas, as responsible for removing the arsenal from the records for its illegal sale. However, when the inventories showed the absence of the material, it states that Colonel Jeckssie Figueroa Lira, former head of Investigations of the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM) was in charge of putting together files incriminating previously selected low-ranking officers.
That is when Plasencia Mondragón came into the picture as part of that network, according to Barráez. They mainly sought sergeants or lieutenants with limited financial resources, who were accused of the loss of weapons and were given public defenders to guarantee their sentence. With this, the careers of the accused ended, who often ended up in prison for crimes they did not commit, while the missing weapons were sent to their buyers.
What are the powers of the military attorney general?
According to article 78 of the Organic Code of Military Justice, the powers of the military attorney general are:
1. Represent Military Justice in all cases of ordinary jurisdiction of the Court Martial.
2. Intervene in cases decided by the Courts Martial that are submitted for appeal or consultation to the Court Martial.
3. Promote before the Supreme Court of Justice or before the Martial Court, as appropriate, appeals for annulment and also for the review of final judgments of military courts and announce an appeal against them when appropriate.
4. To rule on all cases submitted to it for this purpose by the Court Martial.
5. Ensure the proper administration of military justice and for this purpose may go to the Court Martial or to the Minister of Defense, requesting or suggesting the appropriate measures.
6. Any others indicated by this Code and other military laws or regulations.
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2024-09-25 06:55:21
