All the major newspapers are carrying the very interesting story of President Hipolito Mejia and the radio talk show ?El Gobierno de la Ma?ana? (The Morning Government). One of the show?s hosts, Julio Martinez Pozo, had said that a high-ranking member of the staff at the Presidential Palace had bought an armored SUV, valued at US$150,000, and cleared it through the Customs in an ?illegal? manner. At 10 am, the President, using one of the phones from the Presidential Palace called the radio station (Z-101) and asked to be put on the air. Mejia, in no uncertain terms, requested that Martinez Pozo name names, but the radio commentator refused. Towards the end of the surprising exchange the President said, ?If it is a lie, get ready! You will have to clear this up, because it is not possible for you to continuously say things and everybody laughs. No, no, no, this has to be cleared up, and I, the President of the Republic, am ready to act right away.? Several minutes later the President?s legal advisor, Guido Gomez Mazara, and the Press Secretary, Luis Gonzalez Fabra, showed up at the station to interview the commentator. After a 40-minute interview, Gomez Mazara said that if Martinez Pozo did not give proof of his statements the government would seek an indictment.
