The Vinicio Castillo (Vincho) trial continued amid more-than-frequent references to alleged drug trafficker Quirino Ernesto Paulino Castillo. The hearing started at 2:00 pm and ended after 8:00 pm yesterday. During the presentation of evidence and interrogations of former Minister of the Armed Forces and Chief of the Air Force, the defense centered its case on their interpretation that “being associated with Quirino is equivalent to being associated with Bladimir Garcia”. When asked about the defense’s insistence on questioning witnesses regarding Paulino Castillo instead of probing into the alleged relationship between senator Hernani Salazar and Garcia – the public divulgation of which led to the libel lawsuit being brought against Vincho – defense attorney Juares Castillo Seman stated that “if a relationship with Quirino is proven, having said that Hernani Salazar was a friend of Bladimir would be a compliment, because it is worse to be an accomplice of Quirino”. Salazar’s attorney Jorge Luis Polanco classified the defense strategy as “illegal” but stated that the prosecution was willing to discuss anything, including the helicopter issue and the alleged relations of his client with Quirino because “it is a public case and little would be gained if we left public opinion with the impression that Salazar had nothing to do with Bladimir, not so with the other one (Quirino)”.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Vinicio Castillo (Vincho) trial continued amid more-than-frequent references to alleged drug trafficker Quirino Ernesto Paulino Castillo. The hearing started at 2:00 pm and ended after 8:00 pm yesterday. During the presentation of evidence and interrogations of former Minister of the Armed Forces and Chief of the Air Force, the defense centered its case on … <\/p>\n