Jailing of officers puts cases in doubt

SANTO DOMINGO.-The former television personality from Puerto Rico, Laura Hernandez, who was arrested in Higuey in 2002, accused together with her husband of drug trafficking, repeated her testimony now, that she was the victim of a fabrication and the Lt. Colonel Jorge Luis Pena Segura, now in jail for moving 85 kilos of cocaine, tried to extort money from her.

The declarations of Hernandez cause doubts to rise regarding the legal process of persons accused of drug possession, because so many of the officers dismissed from the National Police and the Armed Forces for drug related offenses, worked in the investigations on drug trafficking and other crimes. The recent case in Paya, Bani and the issues surrounding the Interpol office of the National Police increase the fears that many of these officers contaminated the legal cases they were assisting.

Pena Segura was the person that arrested Laura Hernandez together with her now ex-husband, Marcos Irizarry and another six Puerto Ricans in September of 2002, and they were found guilty. Laura spent three years in jail.

The former television hostess spoke of the case in a long interview that she gave the Puerto Rican publication "Puerto Rico Primera Hora.com, and she said that the Air Force officer asked her for money to let her go free.

Hernandez said that "it is not that I am happy that a person has been jailed, but at last, we are seeing that what I have been saying is true: That it was a complete fabrication from the start. Even in court they are accusing this person and they say that he had extorted us and asked us for money."


The on-line newspaper shows a video of the statements made by the former television hostess, and reports that she now has a line of jeans, Lali, and will soon have female beauty products as well.