Paraguay: Medical Oligarchy Defies Justice System – OpEd
By Peter Tase
In its 2016 annual report the U.S. Department of State characterized Paraguay as Latin America’s center of Drug trafficking, transportation and money laundering operations, [1] however it failed to denounce numerous acts of medical terrorism and cases of medical malpractice that are committed by many Paraguayan doctors against their fellow countrymen and desperate patients, who in many cases lose their lives due to grave medical errors.
The Nation of Paraguay and its justice system is succumbed into a network of incompetent doctors who have caused so much pain to thousands of families that have lost their loved ones in mysterious – unexplained conditions; one of these tragic cases is the painful loss of Mrs. Romelia (Rome) Paez, who was killed by two white-shirt terrorists: Dr. Sofía Oviedo and Dr. Olga Cañete, who had introduced a catheter into Romelia’s central breathing path towards her heart, puncturing the sub-clavicle vein while consequently producing an internal bleeding, by covering her lungs with liquids and subsequently Rome was asphyxiated and passed away. Sadly, in 2009, Rome became a victim of medical malpractice and negligence, which is a typical attitude by many irresponsible Paraguayan doctors whose only focus is how to open fake companies abroad, in Panama and other countries of the Caribbean, in order to hide their massive wealth, accumulated by corruptive practices. Asuncion has many medical doctors who have established bogus corporate names in Central America and the Caribbean in order to hide their wealth from fiscal responsibility in Paraguay; one of those doctors is Dr. Julio Apodaca, president of Medical Association of Paraguay, who has been involved in money laundering activities in Paraguay and abroad with the help of a number of law firms in Panama and Guatemala.
The infamous period of Nazi concentration and execution camps in Europe is over; however there are still traces of a growing tendency of medical terrorism that is prevailing throughout the landlocked nation of Paraguay, located at the heart of South America.
Medical terrorism and malpractice is reigning in the hospitals of Paraguay, including Tesãi Hospital, where Rome tragically passed away seven years ago. Medical doctors often hide their wrongdoings by using complex technical language and practice with impunity their profession without any responsibility and totally abandoning the Judeo – Christian morals. Many of the cases of medical malpractice do not reach the court house because patients’ families have no resources to defend their rights and bring medical doctors in front of justice and place them behind bars.
For more than six years Sofía Oviedo and Olga Cañete equipped by a special immunity have evaded and challenged the justice system, meanwhile Paraguay’s Supreme Court reached a verdict and recently sentenced them with 3.5 years in jail. It took a very long time to reach this decision, however Cañete and Oviedo, members of medical oligarchy, are still roving free in the streets of Asuncion.
On the other hand, Rome’s case is the first in the history of Paraguay that has faced at every level of the Paraguayan justice system (in almost 7 years) the corrupt community of medical doctors that have brought Paraguay to its knees and are a disgrace in Latin America. Sofia Oviedo and Olga Cañete have brought so much pain to Rome’s family members; both of them had killed an innocent patient who had gone to Tesái for just a minor back pain.
Rightfully, the supreme court of Paraguay had sentenced Oviedo and Cañete with three years and six months in jail, meanwhile their ‘colleagues’ – white shirted terrorists have led a number of protests against this court decision. In a democracy where no one is above the law, it is imperative to respect the decisions of the court system and the sentence should be executed immediately. In Paraguay, a significant number of corrupt medical doctors refuse to acknowledge the wrong doings of their colleagues and continue to protest in the streets without any legitimate reason. Meanwhile the very same doctors have off shore bank accounts in the Caribbean and drive some of the most luxurious vehicles in Paraguay, a country with a population of 7 million where 50 percent of the population does not have a proper home.
The attorney general’s office in Asuncion, should investigate the origins of wealth on all these doctors who are disrupting the constitutional order and defending two accomplices who have committed such a horrendous crime seven years ago. It is of critical importance to ensure that medical doctors such as Dr. Julio Apodaca and others are not engaged in money laundering schemes outside of Paraguay, in countries that happen to be fiscal heavens.
On April 7, the corrupt network of Paraguayan doctors have scheduled a general strike; the Paraguayan government must take all the precautionary measures to ensure that public health centers are up and running as well as indict all medical doctors who have abandoned their work places unlawfully.[2] Respect for the rule of law is a primary concern in young democracies such as Paraguay and medical malpractice at Tesái must be stopped at every cost, even closing its doors if necessary.
Sources:
[1] http://www.ultimahora.com/cancilleria-rechaza-informe-eeuu-el-paraguay-n980817.html
[2] http://www.abc.com.py/nacionales/una-defensa-corporativa-1468204.html
I think this article is very inflammatory and does not provide any data to support assertions such as:
– being Latin American’s center of drug trafficking and money laundering
– the existence of “medical terrorists” as he states it
What this article does look like is a poor regurgitation of inflammatory “complaint” articles that are popular in the Paraguayan press. I would have expected a more balanced and more professional assessment from such an illustrious author.