Just days before the internal elections of the People's Party (PP), scheduled for December 13, the party's presidential candidate, Zulphy Santamaría, made an urgent call to delegates to vote "conscientiously, for transparency, decency, and the common good," amidst the controversy over the participation of two relatives of a detainee in the "Nodriza" anti-drug operation.
Santamaría stated that there is "a lot of concern" within the party about some candidacies that, she said, may or may not be linked to individuals involved in criminal activities, jeopardizing the credibility and future of the PP.
"While no one can point out whether a person is guilty or not, when you see the news about the 'Nodriza' operation, you realize that it was an investigation that had been underway for several years and was not done overnight or to affect a political campaign, as some have tried to make it seem," she expressed.
She recalled that the operation, which included raids, surveillance, and wiretaps, had been in progress for three years.
The internal crisis erupted after it became known that two relatives of César Caicedo, detained during the 'Nodriza' operation for his alleged role as the leader of a network dedicated to drug trafficking and money laundering, are aspiring to high-ranking positions within the party.
These are César Caicedo Jr., candidate for the Vice-Presidency of the PP, and his cousin Eric Jiménez Caicedo, who is seeking the Third Secretariat.
Both are on the list headed by the current undersecretary general, Cirilo Salas, a candidate for the presidency of the collective.
