The mother Veronica Delgado is searching for has been declared innocent

Veronica Delgado, who was arrested on March 11 at her home, was declared innocent on Friday, Ingrid Escobar, director of Humanitarian Legal Aid, confirmed on social networks.

Delgado is a searching mother, focused on finding the whereabouts of her daughter, Paola Arana Delgado, who has been missing since May 26, 2022.

In search of her daughter, Veronica has been actively involved in civil lawsuits and protests in recent days, calling on the authorities to help her find out her whereabouts.

“Veronica comes as a victim of organized crime, which we believe is responsible for (her daughter's) disappearance, and becomes a human rights defender for the cause of searching and demanding truth and justice,” explained Idalia Zepeda, from ASDEHU. The organization is in conversation with the Voz Pública media outlet, about the legal support they provided to the researcher mother.

According to the police, Veronica was arrested “as a result of a complaint about illegal groups. As we know, the exception system allows this type of arrest to be carried out even without an investigation, when she is transferred to prison.” Zepeda explained that he is deprived of liberty.

Oswaldo Fusier, Veronica's defense lawyer, confirmed upon leaving the Isidro Menendez Judicial Center that agents of the National Civil Police arrested the mother they were looking for because he “saw her as suspicious”, without further evidence.

Veronica regains her freedom, but the case against her is not over, as the investigation against her for alleged illegal groups will continue. According to the defence, the judge took into account that, as a grandmother, she was responsible for caring for her four-year-old granddaughter.

Zepeda added that in the case of the arrest of Veronica, a mother searching for her daughter, “we believe that this is a case of criminalization, not only of the human rights defender, but of criminalization of poverty. These women, in their perception, the majority of those who make up this search bloc still live in stigmatized societies, “Where gangs used to be, they are now victims again. They suffer from the anguish and remorse of not knowing the whereabouts of a missing loved one, and they are now at risk of being deprived of their liberty, within the framework of the system.”

For her part, Escobar, Director of Legal Aid, published in Your Daughter, Punitive Centers Release Her Now!

According to official data issued by government officials, more than 76,000 people have been arrested since the beginning of the emergency regime, which will turn two years on March 27. Of these detainees, at least 7,000 people were released, as the authorities found no evidence that they had any ties to gangs.