Paraguayan prosecutor murdered in Colombia

By Laura Gamba

BOGOTA, Colombia (AA) - A well-known Paraguayan prosecutor was killed on Tuesday in an attack by unidentified people on a beach on the Baru peninsula in Cartagena, Colombia.

Marcelo Pecci, who investigated relevant cases of organized crime, drug trafficking, money laundering and financing of terrorism in his country, was spending his honeymoon with his wife, journalist Claudia Aguilera, who announced her pregnancy a few hours earlier.

According to the latest information, the shots were fired by two men on a jet ski, who fled by land.

Colombian police commander Jorge Vargas, announced that a special team will take over the investigation.

“After the regrettable murder in Baru of the prosecutor against organized crime in Paraguay, Marcelo Pecci, I ordered the immediate transfer of a specialized team,” Vargas said. “Highest priority to this case.”

According to Vargas, a team from the Paraguayan Police will also arrive in Colombia to support the investigation, which will also be assisted by the US.

The president of Paraguay, Mario Abdo Benitez, condemned the killing.

"The cowardly murder of prosecutor Marcelo Pecci in Colombia mourns the entire Paraguayan nation. We condemn in the strongest terms this tragic act and redouble our commitment to the fight against organized crime. Our sincere condolences to his family," Abdo published on his Twitter account.

The prosecutor was in charge of several investigations into organized crime, including the San Bernardino crime in which influencer Vita Aranda was murdered earlier this year after an attack at a music festival, and the murder of businessman Mauricio Schwartzman.

Pecci was also one of the prosecutors in charge of the case against soccer legend Ronaldinho, who was arrested in March 2020 on charges of using a false Paraguayan passport when he entered the country.