In the Cuban legal system there is no procedure that allows president Salvador Allende’s ex-bodyguard to testify as an accused before the Chilean prosecutor.
He will be judged according to Cuban law and within the national territory, in person or in absentia. If he returns to the island to respond to the accusations, he can count on serving his sentence in his own country, if there are treaties to that respect between the two nations.
Not withstanding the foregoing, the official summons issued by the Ministry of the Interior (MININT) and published in the Official Gazette, the organ of dissemination of government laws and acts, does not meet the formal requirements of Cuban procedural law. Normally the Cuban authorities, in their procedures, act on their own irrespective of the legality.
In the summons to Marambio from the prosecutor, are: his name, surnames, address of the one summoned; the reason for the summons; the day he is required to appear and the consequences of failing to do so.
However, the summons did not state the place nor the time the leftist businessman must appear, requirements of the law. Nor was it authorized by a judicial authority. The provision requires that the “the summons is issued by way of a certificate sent by the secretary” of the court in the matter.
In the case of a judicial proceeding undertaken without observing the provisions of the Law of Criminal Procedure, it is established as invalid, under Article 86. MININT’s own note refers to this provision. This, at the same time clarifies that if the person summoned appears, the summons becomes legal.
Finally, it is clear that the arrest order has international repercussions.
The publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Cuba of both notes as required, is a prerequisite for the declaration of non-compliance and the trial an absentia, in the case of an accused who is outside the country.
The Cuban judicial system provides for the continuation of the proceedings against the accused declared in non-compliance until its final resolution, in the case of crimes against the fundamental, political or economic interests of the nation.
Marambio has no reason for fear. The revolutionary government has no intention of pursuing the international businessman who, thanks to his business dealings on the island, managed a group of companies moving more than 100 million dollars annually. It’s true, he knows he cannot return and lose everything he had and enjoyed here.
September 8, 2010
