Colombia
Perpetrators came with jet skis: mafia investigators shot dead on their honeymoon on the beach
Prosecutor Marcelo Pecci speaking to the press in 2020
© Norberto Duarte / AFP
In Colombia, a Paraguayan prosecutor was shot dead on a honeymoon island beach. The authorities have offered a hefty reward to the perpetrators, and Paraguay’s president has condemned the crime.
Paraguayan prosecutor Marcelo Pecci was shot dead on his honeymoon in Colombia. Mafia investigator Pecci is responsible for fighting drug crime. He was killed on a beach on a Caribbean island during his honeymoon, Colombia’s police chief Jorge Luis Vargas said on Tuesday. He spoke of “murder”. Five investigators were sent to the island of Barú. They are to receive support from experts from Paraguay and the USA.
Pecci married journalist Claudia Aguilera in Cartagena, Colombia, at the end of April. The two were therefore on the private beach of a luxury hotel, surrounded by other tourists. Aguilera told radio station W that “two men arrived on a boat and started shooting”. The perpetrators fled. A security guard rushing to help was also shot at.
Holiday island in Colombia: The killers came by jet ski
Her husband had not previously received any threats, Aguilera said. In the last photo published on the Instagram image platform, the couple was seen entwined on the beach. Baby shoes could be seen in the foreground, indicating that the newlyweds were expecting a child. A colleague confirmed this to a Colombian radio station.
According to the hotel, the “murderers came to the beach on a jet ski.” The Colombian police released the photo of one of the alleged killers in black Bermuda shorts and with a beige Panama hat on his head. According to police chief Vargas, Colombia and Paraguay are cooperating with the US drug agency DEA in the investigation. Police announced a $488,000 reward for information leading to the killers’ capture.
Pecci was also known for investigations against Ronaldinho
“The cowardly assassination of Prosecutor Marcelo Pecci in Colombia shocked the entire Paraguayan nation,” President Mario Abdo wrote on Twitter. “We condemn this tragic incident in the strongest possible terms and reaffirm our commitment to the fight against organized crime.” A consul from the Paraguayan Embassy is on her way to Cartagena to gather more information about the crime, the Foreign Ministry said.
Pecci was also known for his involvement in the investigation that put soccer player Ronaldinho behind bars between March and August 2020 for entering Paraguay with forged documents.
Colombia is the world’s largest producer of cocaine, while Paraguay has become an important transshipment point for drugs to Europe.
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