{"id":20406,"date":"2021-09-01T16:57:22","date_gmt":"2021-09-01T16:57:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/?p=20406"},"modified":"2021-09-19T14:59:08","modified_gmt":"2021-09-19T14:59:08","slug":"el-salvador-bitcoin-law-critic-mario-gomez-arrested-without-charge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2021\/09\/01\/el-salvador-bitcoin-law-critic-mario-gomez-arrested-without-charge\/","title":{"rendered":"El Salvador: Bitcoin Law critic Mario G\u00f3mez arrested without charge"},"content":{"rendered":"

Salvadoran Bitcoin Law critic Mario G\u00f3mez, who tweets as @mxgxw_alpha, [Twitter<\/i><\/a>] was arrested without charge at 7am local time (12:00 UTC) this morning, 1 September.<\/p>\n

The police took G\u00f3mez\u2019 phones \u2014 they actually snatched the phones out of his mother\u2019s hands \u2014 and a soldier (!) demanded his mother hand over G\u00f3mez\u2019 computer. [Twitter<\/i><\/a>; <\/i>Twitter<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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The arrest<\/h3>\n

G\u00f3mez sent a message around 6:30am saying that he was being taken to the Monserrat police delegation (the name for a local division): \u201cAlerta me lleva la polic\u00eda a la delegaci\u00f3n de Montserrat sin decirme porque. Por favor hagan buya si es necesario.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gomez’ mother Elena described the arrest: [Twitter<\/em><\/a>] “We drove out from our home in our neighbourhood, and we hadn’t gone very far when the police stopped us and asked for Mario’s ID and the vehicle registration. The officer inquired about issues with his driver’s license or vehicle registration and said they’d verify the documents, and asked if he’d had any accidents. Mario recently renewed his vehicle registration and had no issues doing so, so there is no pending issue with the vehicle.<\/p>\n

“After that, the officer asked him to come with them to the police delegation. I told them I was coming with them, they stopped him from using his phone. I wanted to keep his devices, but an officer came and snatched them from me.<\/p>\n

“The vehicle stayed where they stopped us, so I don’t think there was really an issue with the vehicle. They let me out of the delegation around 7:30am, and I haven’t heard from them since.”<\/p>\n

When the reporter asked her if she knew about any threats against Mario from the police, she said \u201cno”.<\/p>\n

The OIE (Organo de Inteligencia del Estado) is claimed to have been following G\u00f3mez since 1:00am this morning \u2014 two police cars waiting outside where he was staying last night, which wasn\u2019t his home. [Twitter<\/i><\/a>; <\/i>Twitter<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n

G\u00f3mez’s family and the press have been denied access or answers to any questions. [Twitter<\/i><\/a>; <\/i>Elsalvador.com<\/i><\/a>, in Spanish<\/i>]<\/p>\n

There are no laws in El Salvador to protect your data from the police going through it as they see fit. But I\u2019m told that G\u00f3mez is as properly security-paranoid as you\u2019d expect for a loud critic of a local aspiring dictator, and knows his cryptography.<\/p>\n

News as of 15:24 UTC is that the arrest is part of \u201can investigation for possible bank scams\u201d and financial fraud \u2014 specifically, sending phishing emails to bank account holders \u2014 so they want G\u00f3mez\u2019s phones and computer. He has been moved to the DCI (Direcci\u00f3n Central de Investigaciones). [Twitter<\/a>; Twitter<\/a><\/em>]<\/p>\n

Friends of G\u00f3mez have already cautioned that no allegations of crimes from the authorities should be believed out of hand. [Twitter<\/i><\/a>] Particularly given that this is absolutely not<\/i> how a phishing investigation or arrest would be conducted.<\/p>\n

As of 16:48 UTC: Elena de G\u00f3mez and Mario\u2019s lawyer have been allowed into the DCI. [Twitter<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n

The Twitter hashtag for G\u00f3mez\u2019 arrest is #LiberenAMario. [Twitter<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n

Update 18:06 UTC:<\/strong> G\u00f3mez is being released. [Twitter<\/a>; Elsalvador.com<\/a>, in Spanish<\/em>]<\/p>\n

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El especialista en criptomonedas y sistemas de informaci\u00f3n, Mario G\u00f3mez, es trasladado de la delegaci\u00f3n de Monserrat a la DCI de la PNC.
Foto: LPG\/Faustino S\u00e1nchez. pic.twitter.com\/0cKuGoA84f<\/a><\/p>\n

— La Prensa Gr\u00e1fica (@prensagrafica) September 1, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n