Edwin González Montalvo, secretary of the Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTOP), confirmed that investigations are under way into complaints of possible additional charges of up to $2,000 to facilitate the registration of certain off-road vehicles at the Driver Service Centers (CESCO). "It is part of the information we have. We have taken the matter in hand, there are investigations under way that we are sharing with state and federal agencies to take action on this, and we are not unaware of that information," he said.
González Montalvo was responding to claims of possible irregularities at offices that continued to inspect and register UTV-type vehicles while other CESCO offices rejected those procedures. He explained that DTOP identified administrative inconsistencies in how procedures in place since 2020 have been interpreted, particularly after the legislative controversy over the circulation of off-road vehicles. The secretary said he has strengthened the agency’s Office of Investigations, and its staff received training from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on handling evidence and chain of custody.
He said the investigations are at different stages: some are at the level of the strengthened office, others are with the Police, and others are with prosecutors (Fiscalía). As an example of the agency’s investigative work, he cited a cloned-cards case, whose information was gathered to allow authorities to intervene.