Overview

• Javier Santos Ortega was found dead at his Guaymallén home on August 15 in an apparent self-inflicted hanging days before his scheduled transfer to the U32 federal detention center.
• Police forensic teams reported finding pills and an open Bible at the scene and magistrates have launched a judicial probe into his death.
• Santos Ortega testified in 2021 that he paid over $720,000 in cash and property to secure favorable outcomes through a network allegedly orchestrated by ex-judge Walter Bento.
• He had been convicted in a plea deal for contraband, received a 5-year 8-month sentence and provided his cellphone to investigators as key documentary evidence.
• The oral trial against Bento, charged with leading a large-scale corruption ring, presses on with prosecutors relying on sworn statements, chat logs and cooperating witnesses.