Leaked Surveillance Video Undermines ComPol’s Bold Claim

Reporters didn’t pull any punches today; they went straight at Minister Kareem Musa with the question everyone’s asking. Remember when ComPol Rosado confidently said police had nothing to do with Budna’s abduction? Well, that was two weeks ago, long before leaked footage showed an officer standing by as Budna was taken. So, how could Rosado be so sure, so early? Musa says he called the Commissioner himself to ask that very question. And tonight, that question still hangs in the air.

 

Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs

“So I heard that remark. And like the media, it raised some questions for me. And so I had called the police commissioner on seeing that in the newscast after the press briefing. And I said, commissioner, how can you be so sure that the individuals are not police officers? And he said to me, minister, what I am saying is that the police department is not a part of that. Whether or not those individuals who are in casual outfits are police officers, he cannot say because they would be on a frolic of their own. But he’s saying from the high command of the police, this is not something orchestrated by the police. So that’s what he meant.”

 

Paul Lopez

“Was Budna’s abduction, state ordered, or state sanctioned?”

 

Kareem Musa

“Absolutely not. Absolutely not. Paul. I think the Prime Minister has made that emphatically clear each time you interview him, there’s absolutely no reason for the state to want to abduct him. As you know, we have relations with Guatemala, not formal diplomatic relations to the point of having an extradition treaty, but in a year or two after the ICJ judgment, you best believe we’re going to have an extradition treaty. So why would anybody want to take him now, when you can extradite him in two years. I don’t, I don’t understand the reasoning behind that.”

 

Paul Lopez

“Do you believe that this act was carried out by rogue police officers taking orders from perhaps a secret group within the department.”

 

Kareem Musa

“I would not want to speculate. I would want to see where the police investigation takes us and where the independent investigation takes us. But I wouldn’t want to speculate who those men are. Again, you can’t identify them. I think Mr. Budna said repeatedly they were masks, but from what I saw from the video, it didn’t look like they were wearing masks. So again, it’ll depend on the enhancement of the high-quality video if there is one. To identify those individuals.”