Merino Monroy confirmed various facts reported within the Armed Forces that has revealed El Diario d’Avui as that of two officers discharged. Among these the colonel raised the report on the minister’s son, a frigate lieutenant. The official gave his version on this and other cases.
Defense Minister Francis Merino Monroy avoided referring this morning in an interview to Channel 12 about the specific case of his son, Frigate Lieutenant Gerardo Antonio Merino Marroquín, who was reported by his superiors to be missing. the rules of not ingesting liquor and to scandalize the Comalapa Air Brigade in the midst of an emergency by COVID-19.
“That was not the case,” the minister initially replied to the question about the incident. He then said that many things happen within the armed institution and that he does not see them all but that when there are offenses that exceed normal levels, these are aired in the Court of Honor.
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Monroy did not deny but also did not offer an explanation for the incident involving his son, a fact that was reflected in a memorandum, the copy of which was published by El Diari d’Avui on February 7, in which a colonel denounced several arbitrarinesses that are occurring within the Armed Forces.
One of the arbitrarinesses denounced by the aviator pilot colonel, Eduardo Alfonso Salazar Garci’a was that to him they terminated to him by the decision of a superior to discipline a group of officials, among them the son of minister Merino Monroy, by violate the rule of not ingesting liquor because they were quartered and available to meet any requirements given the health emergency.
Colonel Salazar García, who was second in command of this brigade, told El Diario de Avui that on March 20, he had retired to his bedroom to rest while the young officers had remained in the track. Suddenly he was awakened by a shout and when asked what was going on he was told it was a group of officers drinking liquor.
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The colonel ordered them to go to sleep and the next day he made the report to his brigade commander and he did so from the knowledge of the head of the Joint Staff of the Armed Forces (EMCFA), on the serious misconduct committed by nine pilots and two lieutenant frigates of the Naval Force.
In punishment, the 11 officers were sent to Sumpul Command, to protect the borders. According to Colonel Salazar, when Minister Merino Monroy learned of the punishment his son was blamed on him and questioned “who was believed” to do such a thing. He was arrested alleging not this incident with the minister’s son but another cause which, according to the colonel, was “unjustified”.
Yesterday, Minister Merino Monroy pointed out to Colonel Salazar that he had accumulated a series of offenses and that he had been sanctioned for other acts, he also questioned that there are those who, by not being able to answer for their actions, are justified. But Colonel Salazar told El Diari d’Avui that he was not only discharged after this incident from the minister’s son, but did not commit misconduct to degrade him or remove him from the institution.
The case of the gay lieutenant
A case similar to that of the son of the Minister of Defense was that of Lieutenant Cristian Adalberto Castro Grijalva, who has denounced and even filed a lawsuit for his dismissal who was fired for scandal on the public road but the background is their sexual orientation.
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Minister Merino Monroy confirmed the lieutenant’s two-year suspension but has insisted it was for “disorderly conduct” and for “his conduct on public roads” not for his sexual orientation. He also denied that his rights had been violated.
According to Merino Monroy, this case was analyzed in the Court of Honor and then raised to the consideration of the Presidential House where the process was followed in accordance with the law, and even said that the Office of the Attorney General for the Defense of Human Rights he did not find that the officer’s rights had been violated.
Lieutenant Castro Grijalva defines himself as gay and says this was never a secret within the military unit where he was. He explained that he was discharged after being punished and degraded about to be sent to the hill of Meanguera Island, in La Unión, a place where he had no drinking water, electricity or latrine.
He was accused of drunkenness and scandal on the public road after talking to friends in a place in San Francisco Xavier, in Usulután, which he denies, as he says there was never a scandal, but as part of fun female pieces were placed. He says that there a senior officer and no direct of him took pictures of him and still denied it when they told him this was illegal, he withdrew and threatened them telling them that “they already knew who was touching them “.
The lieutenant was arrested by the Police on April 14, 2020 for the crime of resistance but two days later, the Prosecution ordered that he and another detainee be released because there was no crime of prosecution. The assessments of intoxication made by the Institute of Forensic Medicine ruled that he was in a normal state, says the officer.
The colonel who led the 9F military assault on the OAS
The Minister of Defense also confirmed that Colonel Rafael Antonio Urquilla Alvarez was appointed Defense Attaché to the Permanent Mission in the Organization of American States (OAS) based in Washington.
Asked about the decision to send him to a diplomatic post after commanding the military operation in the Legislative Assembly on February 9, 2020, the minister said the promotion of Colonel Urquilla Alvarez is a move “normal” that is given to the institution after making the analyzes on the capacities and abilities to exercise a foreign policy position of the Armed Forces.
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Merino Monroy also said that such promotions are given because the officers who come in relief need a command opportunity and that is why it is necessary to open these spaces.
On the insistence on blaming the Armed Forces for accompanying President Nayib Bukele in a coup attempt on February 9, 2020, Merino Monroy said this is like “grinding water,” meaning grinding anything. , because everything is already explained and clarified that the Army only provided security to President Bukele and that they did nothing out of legality.
9F has been left as a black day in Salvadoran democracy by the incursion into the Blue Hall by force by Bukele, who also usurped the chair of President of the Assembly and opened the plenary session in an attempt to pressuring them to approve a loan.
Merino Monroy also defended the “transparency” with which he says the Armed Forces is working today and that allows even internalities such as those reported by high-ranking officials. He even said that at the recent meeting with the US Embassy Business Officer. UU., He has not asked them to play an apolitical role in the electoral process but they have assured him that they are playing this role as Armed Forces and that the official emphasized it.