Ex First Lady’s accuser ordered back to trial on slander, forgery

Santiago.- A Santiago Province court ruled to resume the trial against the lawyer and journalist Marcos Martínez, indicted last year on forgery and slander against then first lady and current vice president Margarita Cedeño.

Santiago’s 2nd Instruction Court handed down the ruling hailed by Cedeño’s lawyer Luis Miguel Pereyra, who noted that Cedeño charged Martinez on April 25 last year, but the hearings were rescheduled five times on the defendant’s claim of health problems.

"At the hearing on November 26 when he tried to seek sixth postponement, we evidence before the Court that the dilatory intent aimed try to disrupt the process," Pereyra said.

Martinez accused Cedeño, who at the time was also the ruling PLD party’s vice presidential candidate, of having a 46.9 million euro account in the Danish bank Danske.

Cedeño denied the allegations and in her defense submitted a statement from Danske that the document was false, and that she didn’t have any account there.