Investigations into the May murder of Paraguayan prosecutor Marcelo Pecci are progressing rapidly.
Authorities this week revealed how the crime was conceived and carried out, and they say there is growing evidence that the brains of the crime lie at Primeira Comando da Capital (PCC), one of Brazil’s largest crime groups.
Pecci was on his honeymoon with his wife in the resort town of Barú, near Cartagena (Colombia), on May 10, when a gunman shot and killed him while arriving at the resort where he was staying on a jet ski.
The prosecutor led one of the largest anti-mafia operations in the history of Paraguay, a key country in the region’s drug trafficking network. Therefore, the investigations pointed to an international operation from the beginning.
How was the organizer executed?
Five people were arrested. At the hearing held on Monday (6/6), the four admitted their involvement in the crime and confessed details about the execution of the murder.
The fifth detainee, who denied the charges, was named the leader of the execution group: Francisco Luis Correa, a former member of the criminal gang “Los Paisas” with an extensive criminal history.
They are held in a maximum security prison accused of first-degree murder and illegal weapon possession.
According to Colombian Attorney General Francisco Barbosa, Correa “is the person who structured this operation with gunmen coming from Medellín to Cartagena”.
Mother and son Marisol Londoño and Cristian Camilo Monsalve were responsible for tracking Pecci to Barú, a resort town with several kilometers of beach and hotels on the beach.
Eiverson Adrián Zavaleta was responsible for transporting the others. According to authorities, the gun was allegedly fired by Venezuelan national Wender Scott Carrillo.
Social networks
In addition to the confessions of the perpetrators, the Colombian prosecutor has more than a hundred pieces of evidence, from intercepted communications to security footage showing the Paraguayan prosecutor and his executioners moments before the crime.
According to the details of the investigation, the social networks of Pecci’s wife, journalist Claudia Aguilera, could have helped the gunmen.
Prosecutor Barbosa said, “Criminals stated that they often missed the target, but they were able to find the prosecutor thanks to social networks.”
A sixth suspect is on the run and Colombian authorities are offering 500 million pesos (approximately R$ 650,000) in exchange for information that would facilitate his arrest.
This is Carlos Luis Salinas Mendoza, who is known as “Mendoza”, described as a member of a criminal organization in the service of international groups and specifically dedicated to murder for hire.
Mendoza has been alarmed by Interpol and is believed to have fled to Venezuela, but is also wanted in Ecuador, Peru and Panama, according to General Jorge Luis Vargas Valencia, director general of the Colombian National Police.
mentors
The Colombian prosecutor said the crime was financed with more than 2 billion Colombian pesos (R$2.6 million) distributed among several people. But who would be interested in paying such a sum to end Marcelo Pecci’s life?
The prosecutor has launched multiple investigations into the mafia, drug trafficking and money laundering in Paraguay, including against the PCC.
Headquartered in Sao Paulo and having around 30,000 members, the PCC processes more than R$390 million a year in drug trafficking, robberies, kidnappings and bank robberies, according to Brazilian police calculations.
The Colombian police chief chose the PCC as the prime suspect in the murder.
He argues that the PCC planned to commit the crime in Paraguay, but were convinced to commit it outside the country.
Vargas noted that intellectual writers are not in Colombia and that authorities are working in Paraguay to “reach counselors all over the world”.
Paraguay is one of the largest producers of marijuana in South America, supplying Brazil, Argentina and Chile, among other countries, and a regional distribution hub for Bolivian cocaine destined for Brazil, Argentina and Europe, according to data from an operation called “Ultranza.” . PY”.
This operation resulted in the dismissal of two ministers and the arrest of 24 people for alleged ties to drug trafficking organisations.
source: Noticias
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