Candidate Roberto Sánchez denies link to man under investigation for drug trafficking in Trujillo
Photos in a Trujillo restaurant show Sánchez alongside Roger Velásquez Quiñones, who is under investigation by the Public Prosecution Service and for money laundering. The candidate rejects any relationship.
Sánchez denies relationship with man under investigation for drug trafficking after photographs circulate
Presidential candidate from Juntos por el Perú, Roberto Sánchez, rejected any link with Roger Velásquez Quiñones after photographs circulated on social media showing him sharing a table with Velásquez Quiñones and former prosecutor José Domingo Pérez at a restaurant in Trujillo.
According to information accessed by n60.pe, Velásquez Quiñones has a criminal record with the Public Prosecution Service for various alleged offences, including illicit drug trafficking (TID), money laundering, and assaults against family members.
The images circulated generated immediate scrutiny during the active election campaign. The publication shows the three individuals at a meeting in a public venue in the northern city, with the exact date of the encounter not having been specified.
According to the Public Prosecution Service's search system, Velásquez Quiñones is listed as a defendant in fiscal case No. 2306015100-2013-94 for alleged illicit drug trafficking and money laundering, under the scope of Law No. 27765. The investigation was initiated in May 2013 by the Specialised Corporate Provincial Prosecution Office for Illicit Drug Trafficking in La Libertad and concluded with a preliminary dismissal.
Additionally, he has a second investigation for alleged assaults against women or family members, related to bodily injury. This case has been in the qualification stage since September 2022 in the Fiscal District of La Libertad.
In response to the criticism, Sánchez denied knowing the man under investigation and asserted that the encounter was neither coordinated nor private. "It has recently come out that I had dinner with a man alleged to be a drug trafficker, they say it happened in Trujillo. Well, I want to say here that I flatly reject it. It was a public restaurant where after the rally we looked for somewhere to rest a bit and socialise," the candidate stated.
Sánchez explained that the photograph was taken in an open venue where various people approached him to greet him and request photographs. "In that large public restaurant many people approached to take a photo with me and now they are linking me with this person. I don't know who he is, I don't know him and much less do I have any relationship," he affirmed.
The candidate reiterated that the image does not constitute evidence of any personal or political link with Velásquez Quiñones and rejected any attempt to associate him with people under investigation for drug trafficking or money laundering offences.
The controversy has opened debate about the circumstances in which the photograph was taken and the scope of the relationship between those present at the encounter, in a context of active election campaign.
Source: Google News PE — Crime