Marlaska attributes the end of OCON-Sur to the Civil Guard’s decision and asks for “respect” for the investigation against his boss

2024-02-21 10:09:04

The Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, defended himself this Wednesday against criticism from PP and Vox to the dismantling of the OCON-Sur Civil Guard device against drug trafficking in El Estrecho, ensuring that it was a decision by the commanders. of the armed institute. At the same time, Marlaska asked for “respect” for the judicial investigation that maintains charges against the former head of that device, Lieutenant Colonel Oliva, who has presented a document in court in which he denounces a setup by the National Police and his colleagues. of the Internal Affairs Service of the Civil Guard, as published this Wednesday by elDiario.es.

Marlaska once again stated that the decision to end OCON-Sur consisted solely of transferring its 150 troops to the respective areas of the commands affected by the special security plan for the area. The minister accused Vox of spreading “hoaxes, lies and misinformation” on the issue.

“It is a change in structure that is decided by the Civil Guard, which has the autonomy to do so, seeking greater efficiency. “I respect the organizational decisions adopted by the commanders of the Civil Guard and the National Police, not like you and your partners on the right, who imposed orders on them,” he responded to the spokesperson for the extreme right in Congress, Pepa Millán.

elDiario.es has published that the decision to dismantle OCON-Sur was a suggestion by the generals of the Civil Guard when they learned of the accusation in the National Court of Lieutenant Colonel Oliva, in command of the device, and two of his subordinates. The Ministry of the Interior already explained then that it was a simple reorganization of a device that had produced very relevant results in seizures and arrests that Marlaska’s own department had publicly highlighted. Sixteen months later, the alleged murder of two civil guards by traffickers in Barbate occurred and the elimination of OCON-Sur has acquired a political and media relevance that it had not had at the time.

Elías Bendodo had urged the Minister of the Interior in the Chamber “the real reason for the dismantling of OCON-Sur. “Do not come with excuses for operational reasons because what they do is insult the guards and the families,” said the popular spokesperson. Feijóo’s party considers that maintaining this device would have prevented the death of the two civil guards who were run over by the boat of some drug traffickers.

Bendodo even mentioned “the Internal Affairs reports and the false evidence,” along the lines of Lieutenant Colonel Oliva’s complaint. “Respect the investigations and do not jump to conclusions ahead of time,” Marlaska replied.

The Popular Party deployed the usual heavy artillery against the Minister of the Interior. The number two of the PP, Miguel Tellado, said that the judge of the nineties, the Marlaska of today would cause “nausea.” The spokesperson for the conservative party in matters of the Interior, Ana Vázquez, added: “The Civil Guard is not alone; “The one who is alone is you.”

And Marlaska, for his part, responded by ensuring that during the PP governments there was a “drastic reduction” of staff in the State Security Forces and Bodies, in addition to the parapolice operations ordered from the Interior. The minister once again brought up the photos of the president of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, with a drug trafficker in the nineties. “The difference is that while some traveled by boat with a drug trafficker, I put that drug trafficker in prison,” said the minister, referring to his time as a judge.