The 'Confidente X' is now protected in Spain

The Confidente X comes to light. But only at home: "Daddy, there you are," his child said when seeing his silhouette in the newspaper. "I didn't know what to say. So I stayed silent. He looked at his mother sideways. Another silence." She knows. She was part of the story. She lived it with X. "I'm disturbed, but he needed to be honest, to tell what he has lived. Now he's more calm. He has relieved himself of a burden."

There are still some stories to be told

Some stories are yet to be told. "In the CONMEBOL everyone knew what was happening, or at least suspected. But that didn't prevent us from having a social life. We even participated in social football tournaments. I played several. They were usually held at Marcelo Toyotoshi's ranch, the owner of Toyota in Paraguay. He was close to the leaders of the South American Confederation and was the sponsor of the Copa Libertadores. One of the great fortunes of America. There, I played matches where there were people like the former president of the Chilean Federation and also a member of FIFA, or Juan Ángel Napout, the current president of CONMEBOL, who was Leoz's protégé and was president of Cerro Porteño. We played football and then had a barbecue. Everything seemed normal."

But it wasn't. At least not within the South American Confederation that Leoz managed. Just take a look at the fortune amassed by the former FIFA vice president during his 26 years leading CONMEBOL. Dozens of estates, cars, properties, and even entire neighborhoods, like Villa Morra, very close to Herrera, where he is now under house arrest awaiting extradition to the United States. "To disguise, they bought entire buildings, ranches, and cars. In the case of Leoz, he shared almost everything with his wife, María Clemencia."

Did it really amount to that? "It amounted to almost everything one wanted to buy," says the Confidente X, who speaks of a "large sum, ten million US dollars (providing the bank receipt for that amount) that was deposited into CONMEBOL's checking account, number 1280/7, and from which money was withdrawn in different amounts, continuously and regularly, to his personal account, number 1596/2 at Banco do Brasil." "Those ten million dollars came from the company TT Sports Marketing, based in the United States, and were transferred to Paraguay by the Brasilian American Merchant Bank in New York." That's why the US Attorney's Office is tracing this money.

Leoz's case was like the Spanish saying "Juan Palomo, I cook it and I eat it." In addition to the Banco do Brasil building, which he bought on October 4, 1998, for 953,000 dollars at the time, the relationship shows purchases in millions of guaraníes and US dollars. A fortune for almost fifty properties in the country.

But some of his closest collaborators had relatives who acted as frontmen. This is the case of his personal secretary, Irmina Ortiz de Ezcurra, who, along with her husband Gilberto, had a fleet of fourteen cars: six Toyotas (including three Land Cruiser models), five Mercedes Benz, one Chevrolet, one Randon, and one Mitsubishi L200. By the way, most of them were blue.

Irmina is a key person in the CONMEBOL network. Leoz's personal secretary, in addition to her fleet of cars, lived in one of the best houses in Asunción, "a huge palace, bigger than the most impressive ones in Europe," says the Confidente X, who recalls that "it was a mansion that was admired by many in Asunción." According to X, Leoz's secretary "is crucial because she knew the workings of the Confederation and pulled the strings of the network." She was Leoz's trusted person. Irmina, according to the account, "dealt with many banks in the country, where she handled money in guaraníes. But she also transferred amounts in dollars to Panama, in her sister's name." In the documents provided, there are also transfers to Panamanian banks from account 183806 at the Banco de Brasil in Asunción to its branch in Panama City in the name of Gladys Galeano.

The story of the Confidente X ends here... for now. Because he promises to return. "There are more stories, more documents, and names. But I am still organizing everything. I will notify you. We will meet someday, somewhere." It will be a pleasure. You already know where we are. Until next time, X.