Luciana León: new chats commit the former parliamentarian and her husband

New chats between former parliamentarian aprista, Luciana León , and her husband, Augusto Narvarte, came to light. Discussions about public works caught the attention of the Public Prosecutor's Office, which is why it imposed a constitutional complaint before the Congress of the Republic. The fiscal thesis argues that these messages could demonstrate Leon's link with Los Untouchables Ediles.

There is a conversation that refers to the construction works of the Arequipa — La Joya bridge. The contract for this was signed on September 13, 2017, during the administration of Governor Yamila Osorio. The amount paid was S/ 107 million 549,938, to the La Joya II consortium, made up of the Italian company Pizzarotti & C.S.P.A. and the Peruvian company Eralma Constructora SAC, founded by Ernesto Málaga Fattorini.

The WhatsApp messages correspond to January 18, 2018 and are already part of the evidence that the Public Prosecutor's Office collected to constitutionally accuse the former congresswoman before Congress.

The chat reads like this:

Augusto Narvarte: “Press Chacon for the Jewel. I'm listening to m... from Yamila. The jewel is very bitter with her through Malaga, which is part of the consortium for the bridge”.

Luciana León: “Call Chacon, wait for your call.”

THE GOVERNOR DENIES IT

Former governor Yamila Osorio was consulted by the newspaper El Comercio and denied knowing the former parliamentarian and her husband. He indicated that the possible reference made to it in the chats should be “perhaps” to the fact that “he required his managers to supervise the proper execution of the work”.

In addition, he said “not to remember” that there were any workers named Chacón during his administration (2015-2018).

In the year the message was written, Cecilia Chacón was a member of the Congressional Budget Committee. The former congresswoman of Fuerza Popular said she didn't know which “Chacon” León and Narvarte are referring to. In addition, she acknowledged that she knows the husband of her former colleague, but in a “social way”.

“I was just another member of this commission. If they had told me something, what could I have done?” , he told El Comercio.

CONSTITUTIONAL REPORTING

The Attorney of the Nation, Zoraida Ávalos, filed a constitutional complaint against Luciana León on March 10 before the Congress, for the crimes of aggravated traffic in influence, criminal organization, improper passive bribery and willful embezzlement by appropriation.

According to article 99 of the Constitution, senior officials have the right to a trial to be investigated for alleged crimes committed during their duties, up to 5 years after leaving office. This means that for León to be criminally prosecuted, Parliament needs to approve a constitutional charge against her.

The complaint was submitted to the Subcommittee on Constitutional Indictments on 11 March for qualification. MP Martha Moyano, vice-president of the subgroup, said the complaint will follow “the same procedure as the others.”

CHATS IN THE HANDS OF THE PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE

The Prosecutor's Office has also included in the investigation the chats revealed by Punto Final in 2017. It is recalled that these show how the former congressman requests an account from her husband to deposit $5 thousand dollars.

The chats would also reveal the pressure he exerted against former officials, such as former Minister of Economy Alfredo Thorne, to favor contracts with authorities of the municipality of La Victoria. These authorities involved in the criminal organization Los Untocables Ediles, led by Mayor Elias Cuba Bautista “El Uno”. Cuba Bautista was responsible for giving the appearance of legality to the illicit activities of its collaborators.

It is recalled that on June 3, 2021, Luciana León testified before the Prosecutor's Office. On that occasion, he rejected all the facts in which he is involved. He also said he only took the issue of the municipality with Minister Thorne on one occasion and it was due to the FONIPREL bankruptcy fund, in a “transparent way”. In addition, he denied that he had received money from Alex Peña for his marriage.