NOELIA SASTRE
SPECIAL ARTICLE FOR EL UNIVERSAL

As in a Hollywood movie, the defendants in the suitcase scandal have faced justice by pleading guilty before Judge Joan Lenard in Florida. On Wednesday, Uruguayan Rodolfo Wanseele Paciello, 40, was the third person to plead guilty.

Paciello, who is slated to be sentenced next July 14, appeared on Wednesday morning before the judge. He acknowledged having acted as an agent of the Venezuelan government without making the relevant notification to the US authorities.

Accompanied by an English-Spanish interpreter and his public defender, Sowmya Bharathi, the defendant followed the footsteps of Venezuelans Moisés Maionica and Carlos Kaufmann, who also pleaded guilty and agreed to a settlement with the District Attorney Office instead of facing trial. On Wednesday, the postponement of the judgment in Kauffmann's case from May 12 to June 13 was made known.

So far, Frankin Durán is the only person who is facing trial, as he continues to plead not guilty. All of the defendants, however, are remain in custody until their sentences are announced.

According to some court files, Wanseele Paciello, who lived in the US with a work visa, was connected, through his ex-wife, to a high-ranking officer of the Venezuelan General Directorate of Intelligence and Prevention Services (Disip).

Translated by Karina Gómez P.