For the past two nights we've been examining the curious case of the 2021 Volkswagen Atlas SUV. That's the vehicle that tour operator Yhony Rosado bought from a local car dealer, but which police say is a stolen vehicle from the US.
As we told you, the PUP Area Rep., Marconi Leal, finds himself in the middle of the shady deal. That's because his name was found at the top of a customs appraisal form connected to the vehicle. He said that he consented to this so that Customs could, quote, assist a friend with a little discount on the duty."
Now that the vehicle has been flagged as stolen, and Leal has a connection to its importation into the country, we asked his political boss, Prime Minister John Briceno, if his integrity as an elected parliamentarian should be called into question. We caught up with PM Briceno at another event this morning, and here are his sharp responses to that question:
Daniel Ortiz
"Isn't that in itself an abuse of your public office, sir? He's asking for consideration through his authority as a parliamentarian for special considerations by customs."
Hon. John Briceno, Prime Minister
"I think as representatives, we get all sorts of requests. And by him asking for consideration, it does not - he does not have the authority. He does not have the authority to instruct the Customs Department to do any such thing. For him to ask for some kind of assistance, that's what representatives do every single day. Now, it was left now for the Customs Department to decide whether they wanted to do that or not. Thank you very much, everybody."
That justification sounds very similar to what his predecessor, former Prime Minister Dean Barrow, had to say in defense of former Minister Edmund Castro back in November 2013 when he was recommending visas for Chinese visitors. Later on in the news, we'll look back to compare the comments of these two Prime Ministers on the defense.
