Vice president of Uruguayan state telco ANTEL, Gonzalo Perera, admitted to faking his attempted murder in El Pinar Norte. The police began to suspect Perera after reconstructing the case. The branch where the rope was to be hung could not support any weight and part of the rope that Perera said was used to hang him was in his own house.

When Perera could not sustain the lie, he snapped and told police that everything was a made up story, which he had told because he family was going through a rough period. Now the vice president of Antel has been arrested for faking a crime. For a year, Perera had a bodyguard due to “death threats” he said he had received.

In his complaints, he linked the assault to his position at the state telecommunications company. Edgardo Carvalho, president of Antel, said he was "shocked and amazed" at Perera’s actions. Carvalho recalled that Perera is a grade five professor at the College of Engineering and has a PhD in mathematics. "We are talking about a person of outstanding intellectual level," he said.

"I think it is something that will have an explanation. Today we do not have it, but we will in a few hours. It is so inexplicable," he added. Carvalho suggested the case should also have a medical opinion because it is “very difficult to believe that this has been done in a deliberate manner.” "We are awaiting the court’s decision," said Carvalho.

(180, 14 July 2009)