Suitcases Case: former court adviser arrested after testifying before Prosecution
Mauricio Requena, former adviser to the Supreme Court of Justice, was detained on Tuesday evening as he left the Controlled Substances Prosecution Office, where he had initially declared as a witness.
Former Supreme Court adviser goes from witness to suspect in Suitcases case
Mauricio Requena, former adviser to Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ) president Rómer Saucedo, was arrested on the evening of Tuesday, 10 November after concluding his statement before the Controlled Substances Prosecution Office in the framework of the so-called Suitcases case. El Deber reported this, confirming the detention through his defence lawyer, Ericka Oroza.
Requena left the Public Ministry facilities in handcuffs and under police custody, and was subsequently transferred to facilities of the Special Force Against Drug Trafficking (Felcn).
"He was called to testify as a witness. He immediately gave his witness statement and became a suspect. I believe this is the practice they are using," questioned Oroza. The legal expert indicated that her client has been attributed at least two offences, without specifying which ones. She also maintained that Requena has no connection to the facts being investigated.
Former deputy's testimony as the trigger
According to the defence, the change in Requena's procedural situation occurred following an expanded statement by former deputy Laura Rojas, one of the main suspects being investigated in the case. Through her lawyer, Joadel Bravo, Rojas pointed to Requena as the intermediary who would have contacted Aldo Quezada—then president of the Departmental Court of Justice (TDJ) of Santa Cruz—to arrange judicial authorisation for travel in favour of the former legislator's two minor daughters.
According to Rojas's account, on 20 November 2025 she informed Hebert Zeballos that she needed authorisation from the girls' father to travel abroad. Zeballos allegedly put her in touch with Requena to facilitate the arrangements.
That permission would have allowed Rojas to travel with her daughters to the United States on 21 November 2025. Days later, she returned to Santa Cruz on a chartered flight that was also carrying Uruguayan citizen Gabriel Giuliano Leoni, who, according to the investigation, was transporting more than 30 suitcases.
Four witnesses summoned, different situations
The Prosecution had summoned four people to testify as witnesses in the case: Requena; former prosecutors Julio César Porras and Delmy Guzmán; and Aldo Quezada, former president of the SCJ in Santa Cruz. Porras and Requena presented themselves during the day. Guzmán had not arrived at the Controlled Substances Prosecution Office by 18:00. Quezada, for his part, appeared at a different prosecution office from the one indicated in his summons.
Requena's arrest represents a formal turning point in the proceedings: from being summoned as a witness to being investigated as a suspect. The Prosecution must clarify the offences attributed to him and the evidence supporting the measure, according to his defence.
Source: El Deber