Journalist Accuses Former La Prensa Head of Running Extortion Ring

Journalist and former political candidate Jean Marcel Chéry launched strong criticisms against the former president of the newspaper La Prensa, Annette Planells, whom he believes created a figure of an anti-corruption fighter at the expense of her media influence. According to Chéry, like criminals convinced that crime pays, they went further. He emphasized that "this false trajectory as a champion against corruption (using Movin, Claramente, Foco, La Prensa, and Mi Diario) ended badly, because there is no perfect crime." In his statement, Chéry also recounted that he himself was one of the victims of their activities. He noted that their extortion network was being dismantled, albeit slowly. "The title that no one will ever be able to take away from you is that of 'Champion of Extortion'," he commented. Chéry stated that their next criminal level involved manipulating the justice system and even attempting to influence the course of elections. He claimed that their anti-corruption reputation was sustained solely by the overwhelming media exposure their connections allowed. He added that they "managed to grease a sophisticated money-making machine with the extortion structure they created, which was an open secret but that no one dared to denounce until recently." "If they take away your relationships with key people in the media, you have nothing," he exposed. Chéry also mentioned that among their victims were decent people who succumbed to their blackmail to avoid reputational damage. He explained that the accused paid to have the information's profile lowered and the cannons turned towards him.