Ernesto Tobella

**Ernesto Tobella** is a character in the New and Improved Solís project.

## Summary

Ernesto Tobella (12/04/1931 - 25/07/2009) was an intellectual, investigator and jurist, who lived in Solìs and closely collaborated with the Espinosa Dynasty during Leon’s final years and the whole of Oscar’s government. He was the creator and innovator of the ANDEPS secret police.

## Life and career

Tobella was born in Watasumag on the 12th of April 1921, in a rich family. His dad was a collaborationist of the Espinosa during the riots of 1907-1909, and became very close to the government; he also was an intellectual who was close to the city’s elite. He instilled his values in his son and used his connections to favour his political career.

Ernesto studied classical subjects in Quya and then law at university, becoming a respected lawyer. He became a prominent figure in his youth, and even departed to Germany to take part in two trials held by Roland Freisler in 1944.

He applied his methods to opponents of the regime in Solìs and soon got to meet Leon Espinosa, the current leader of the country. They became close friends and Tobella rose through the ranks to become a judge in the new capital, Nueva Voz, around 1953. He was the judge who gave the death penalty to Marta Jaeger, who had created a local counter-propaganda radio station. After this many cases, he was then elevated to head of the Police Agency in 1958.

### The new judicial system.

He started immediately reforming the system and integrated the Black Hand closely in the military and police force. The justice system was slimmed down to shorten trials, and the code of law integrated the death penalty for minor crimes. This was extremely useful in cracking down the opposition in the usual ways, but around 1978 new terrorist movements started attacking the institutions with new violent acts. Repressing them was extremely hard and slow, as demonstrated by the massacre of T’ira Kuni, where 29 men were killed in the burning of the village. No terrorist was killed, as bureaucracy was too slow to send troops to the village and they had time to evacuate. A new way to act was needed.

Tobella lobbied for the creation of ANDEPS, or National Police and Security Agency, a new independent armed group under his direct control. He built a slim and efficient system that ultimately repressed the armed opposition at the end of 1984. In 1987 he started the construction of five concentration camps and ultimately reached his goals.

During the ‘90s he slowly gave away his tasks to more and more assistants, especially after Leon’s death in 1995 due to a tumour. He ultimately retired in 2007 and died in his villa in Costa Consuelo in 2009. The house was torn down on September 6th, 2017 during the El Lucero massacre, ironically by the same ANDEPS that he had created.

## Personal life

Tobella married Joaquina Barboza on May 12th 1946; the couple had three children, two of whom died of dysentery in their early years. Martim, the third one, was born in 1953 and was murdered at 14 years old in a robbery. He also entertained many relationships with mistresses and had at least one illegitimate son, who also died in a terrorist attack. Barboza died of pneumonia in 1997.