June 11, 2026 at – 01:00
Prosecutor Christian Benítez summoned the pensioner for three days to deliver the authenticated copy of the session in which former legal director José “José’i” González revealed that the President of the Republic, Santiago Peña, entered into an express withdrawal of G. 3,281 million in favor of a company. The pension originally claimed, at the beginning of 2024, G. 10,781 million and then agreed, in July of that same year, to collect only G. 7,500 million.
Through official letter No. 115/2026, the Public Ministry informed the Social Security Institute (IPS) –currently chaired by Isaías Fretes– to send within a peremptory period of three days an authenticated or certified copy of the minutes No. 054/2024, corresponding to the session of July 30, 2024.
This is the key document of the Board of Directors where the then legal director of the institution, José “José’i” González Maldonadoopenly confessed that the President of the Republic, Santiago Peña, was behind the extrajudicial agreement to benefit the South American Hotel Consortium SArepresented by Jorge López Moreira.
Through this maneuver, the private company obtained a direct reduction of G. 3,281 million. At the beginning of 2024, the IPS claimed before the Court a debt of G. 10,781 million that had been dragging on since November 2018. However, the interference of the Executive twisted the arm of the pension system, which agreed to collect barely G. 7.5 billionvalidating in passing another reduction inherited from the government of Mario Abdo Benítez.
As detailed by prosecutor Benítez in his request, although the Prosecutor’s Office already has resolution No. 054-034/2024, it is essential to access the minutes of the session. The objective is to fully understand the development of the debate and discover the true motivations that pushed the councilors to sign the millionaire benefit behind the backs of the insured.
“Relevant” shielding
During that “secret” session, González Maldonado openly exposed the name of the highest authority in the country before the Board of Directors of the IPS, a body that by law enjoys total autarky and financial independence from the Central Government. After informing that the payment of the reduced debt would be executed almost immediately (within a period of 24 to 48 hours), the lawyer detailed his conversation with Santiago Peña.
Read more: Constitution in IPS: Prosecutor’s Office seeks more data on alleged rigging in tenders
González Maldonado admitted that he delivered the opinion directly to Juan José Galeano, economic advisor to the Presidency of the Republic, with the explicit purpose of shielding the “political and legal” issues of the operation.
The former legal director himself justified the exceptional nature of the procedure by arguing the “relevance of the family involved”, in direct reference to the López Moreira-Bo family, linked to the former president. Mario Abdo Benitez.
Once the pact was consummated behind the scenes and with the internet transmissions turned off, the proposal was approved in silence and remained hidden until March of this year when ABC revealed the surprising asset growth of González Maldonado. The global transaction closed at G. 7,912,500,000, of which G. 7,500 million was collected by the IPS and G. 412,500,000 (VAT included) were for professional fees.
Fall of the legal director
The millionaire loot of G. 412 million in fees was collected entirely by González Maldonado himself. In an attempt to launder this income, the lawyer recorded the figure in his sworn statement filed in 2025.
However, after the scandal was uncovered, it was discovered that multiple legal professionals were involved in the litigation and that the legal director made a discretionary and arbitrary distribution of the money, deliberately hiding this distribution from the public. Comptroller General of the Republic (CGR).
Cornered by these suspicious financial movements and by an explosive and unjustified asset growth, González Maldonado was forced to resign from his position at the IPS.
The criminal case, in which this tax request from last June 8 appears, seeks to dismantle an alleged network of corruption and influence peddling that, due to the statements contained in the minutes kept under lock and key, already directly affects the Presidency of the Republic.
