The prefix narco is associated with everyone: politicians, judges, prosecutors, police, lawyers, journalists and even models. Also to the chats that expose the criminal enterprise led by the Patron, the late Leandro Norero. And the money with which a constellation of actors was orchestrated to ensure impunity for him and his protégés.

The revelations in the case of Metastasis are, without a doubt, due to State Attorney Diana Salazar, who did not give up in her search for the truth.

The cooperation of North American authorities was crucial to deciphering the cellphones the boss used to communicate with his paid operators. At the same time, it is necessary to recognize the decision to support the new national government in order to glimpse what, metaphorically, could be the light at the end of the tunnel.

President Daniel Noboa thinks so when he says that its historical importance will be projected in the next ten years. Maybe a prelude to the Phoenix plan.

What is disturbing is that for the first time a criminal structure has been exposed, which is only a branch of a leafy and sinister tree, which allows the identification of officials and collaborators who were previously protected by anonymity.

Given that there are still about a hundred mob cell phones whose chats will be gradually revealed, it is to be expected that the list of those involved will grow with surprising discoveries.

The fact that the habeas corpus illegally obtained by former Vice President Jorge Glas and reporter Daniel Salcedo was the product of a $450,000 combination payment leaves little room for surprise. Furthermore, Norero was in charge of paying the bill for the repair of a dozen patrol cars to the chief of police of the canton of Samborondón (Guayas), in exchange for the protection of his property and the reporting of possible operations against him.

Given what happened, the main loser is former President Rafael Correa and his agenda of impunity, which has failed miserably. It’s a shame that in his desperation he played the snitch by warning his associates that the Metastasis operation was about to take place. An action that could not prevent the fall of his bishop in the council, now the former president of the National Council of Justice Wilman Terán, a caricature character, who was in charge of maneuvering in the shadows in the process of selecting seven judges of the National Council of Justice, which had to be declared null and void.

Prosecutor Salazar spoke a great truth: what happened should serve to ensure that the most discredited state institutions, mainly the judiciary and the national police, must undergo a rapid process of self-purification.

The good thing is that the message has been sent that crime does not pay and that its enablers sooner or later are subject to accountability and, worse, personal and family discredit with the risk of losing their freedom or being a prison escapee. .justice, along with the fact that their illegally acquired property and money will be confiscated.

If you have any doubts, ask Glas, who went from being a rock star at social events in Guayaquil to being an unpleasant, but also an unexpected “guest” of a friendly embassy. (OR)