Maduro announced today that there were 10 new cases of COVID-19 detected in the country over the past 24 hours, bringing the total since the outbreak began to 298.
CICPC Chief Responds to Drug Trafficker Picture Scandal
Douglas Rico, the head of the Scientific, Penal, and Criminal Investigation Service Corps (Cuerpo de Investigaciones Científicas, Penales y Criminalísticas, CICPC) issued a video statement today in which he addressed a scandal over photographs in which he appears in the company of a man recently accused of being a drug trafficker.
The CICPC is an forensic investigative force.
Earlier in the day, Alberto News published three images showing Rico in the company of Orlando Jose Silva Moreno, who was arrested on April 15 over allegations that he is a drug trafficker. At the time of his arrest, Silva was in the possession of several firearms, and claimed to be a member of the CICPC.
The three images showing Rico and Silva together appear to have been talking at two different social events. In the pictures, the men are smiling and posing together with other a third individual.
In his statement, Rico admitted to knowing Silva, and confirmed that he was a member of the CICPC. Rico said:
I do know Mr. Orland Silva, because he has been a member of this institution [the CICPC] for more than 20 years, even since before I was its director. He’s going to have to deal with the circumstances in which he finds himself today…
Rico said that he would only step down from his position over the photographs only if he were asked to do so by Maduro.
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