The Second Settlement Court for Criminal Cases has declared eight defendants in absentia in the Odebrecht case, which has a trial date of September 27.

They are Danna Harrick, Liz Eelena De Souza, Juan Francisco Mutio, Javier Díaz Torres, Paulo Cesar De Miranda, Barry William, Gonzalo Eduardo Monteverde and María Isabel Carmona Bernasconi.

Judge Baloisa Marquínez 's decision is published in edict No. 92 of August 16,  where it also decrees the suspension of the processing of the process and the term of the prescription of the criminal action until these eight people appear before the Court.

The group of people is accused by the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor for the alleged commission of money laundering; the product of an alleged bribe payment scheme created by the construction company.

Preventive detention is ordered for Juan Francisco Mutio, Javier Díaz Torres, Paulo Cesar De Miranda, Gonzalo Eduardo Monteverde, and María Isabel Carmona Bernasconi, and in view of the fact that their whereabouts are unknown nationally, as well as abroad, the judge ordered that it proceed to request the issuance of a red alert.

The document also indicates that the preventive detention order for Liz Elena De Souza, Barry William, and Danna Harrick is maintained.

The judge opened a criminal case against 36 people, however, after the brothers Luis Enrique and Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Linares were sworn in on August 16, as substitute deputies of the Central American Parliament (Parlacen), Judge Marquínez loses the jurisdiction to judge them and they will have to be prosecuted by the magistrates of the Supreme Court.

The list of defendants includes former presidents Ricardo Martinelli and Juan Carlos Varela and former ministers Frank DeLima, Demetrio Papadimitriu, James Ford,Federico Pepe Suarez, Charles Duboy and Jose Domingo Arias.