The perpetrators of the attack on March 27 targeted the prosecutor of the Public Ministry (MP), Miriam Reguero Sosa. This is the second attack against Reguero in less than two years and this, in the opinion of analysts, reflects flaws in the security scheme.
The first attack against the prosecutor was in 2022 in a sector of zone 3. On that occasion the agent’s pilot lost his life, she managed to survive the altercation.
On March 27, 2024, in a sector of zone 9, the second attack occurred perpetrated by an armed commando dressed as agents of the National Civil Police (PNC).
In the incident, a security agent and Reguero Sosa’s mother lost their lives, an altercation that was highly planned at the discretion of Mario Mérida, a security analyst.
“The subjects had a specific plan for the murder. There had to be monitoring for a couple of weeks, permanent surveillance and of course preparation so that the surprise was absolute.”
The MP reported days after the attack that after coordination with the Ministry of the Interior, the security scheme was reinforced. Indicating that the investigation is under confidentiality, without reporting on a possible motive for the crime.
Reguero Sosa investigated a group of lawyers and notaries that appropriated land. He also participated in the investigation of the El Bodegón Case, where money laundering activities were detected. In his last years at the head of the MP he was in charge of the metropolitan prosecutor’s office and currently the liquidating prosecutor’s office.
Agents and risk analysis
For analysts, there are at least three major deficiencies in the security scheme: There was no risk analysis, the number of security agents was insufficient, and few or no controls over who can obtain police uniforms.
Mérida considers that it is vital that the MP analyze in detail all actions against its agents. This would have even allowed for a greater number of security agents in the surrounding area.
“Once there was an attack, the MP will have to investigate in depth. Due to the background and level of risk, in my opinion the number of bodyguards was limited,” says the expert.
The analyst estimates that on the day of the attack, since the tax agent and her mother were there, what was necessary was to have at least two security agents for each, along with a fifth element that only focused on driving the car.
Sandino Asturias, also an analyst on security issues, sees the same deficiency. Since the attack was surprising even though there was already a precedent.
“If there are serious deficiencies in the prosecutor’s security scheme. We will have to see what cases she was working on and that she deserved a strengthening of the scheme to prevent this attack from being successful.”
The recent attack, in the opinion of Asturias, would merit evaluating the level of risk for all investigating agents. “There must be a risk assessment for prosecutors and police who are handling sensitive cases. This should be a permanent evaluation mechanism.”
Police uniforms
Video surveillance cameras in the vicinity of the second attack show how the attackers were wearing clothing similar to the uniforms of PNC agents. In the cameras, the outfits appeared to be very similar to those currently used by the police institution.
“Forging or buying PNC uniforms is extremely easy, there is no adequate safeguard and control of the uniforms, they are easy to acquire. This implies that an additional measure is required to take care of these private uniforms, in order to avoid organized violence schemes that confuse the victims,” said Asturias.
Mérida believes that the uniforms should have greater security controls, because it is quite easy to access even the originals. “It is easy to imitate a PNC uniform because of the colors and emblems there are. Regardless of whether the police officers take the uniforms to the street to size or repair them because they do not fit their measurements.”
Regarding this situation, an attempt was made to seek the position of the Minister of the Interior, Francisco Jiménez, but the official indicated that he could not give evaluations on the issue because the case is under confidentiality.
They reject analysis
Given the assessments made by the two analysts, the MP’s Social Communication Department was consulted, who indicated that they do carry out constant security evaluations for all their tax agents.
“The Security Department of the Public Prosecutor’s Office constantly carries out security analyzes of its officials, from which prosecutor Reguero had the highest scheme. Likewise, in that sense, security has been reinforced for prosecutorial personnel according to risk analysis that are carried out,” says the institution.
In addition, they add that they coordinated with the Ministry of the Interior to reinforce the security of tax agents. “The Public Ministry as an institution will spare no effort to guarantee the protection of personnel, since unfortunately many prosecutors have been the objects of systematic attacks, from constant harassment and violation of their human rights and those of their families, to violent events such as the one recorded last “Wednesday, solely to fulfill its function of investigating.”
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