Bogota, May 11 (AFP\/APP):Paraguayan anti-drug prosecutor Marcelo Pecci was shot dead execution-style Tuesday while honeymooning on a Colombian Caribbean island by men who fled by sea, police and his widow said.<\/p>\n
Paraguay’s president denounced the crime as a “cowardly murder” and a fellow prosecutor said the modus operandi was reminiscent of “the mafia.”<\/p>\n
Pecci, 45, was felled by two shots while relaxing on a beach on the tourist island of Baru, according to his wife, Paraguayan journalist Claudia Aguilera, whom he married on April 30 in the nearby city of Cartagena.<\/p>\n
“Two men attacked Marcelo. They came in a small boat, or on a jet ski, the truth is I did not see well,” she told the El Tiempo newspaper.<\/p>\n
One of the assailants got out and “without a word he shot Marcelo twice, one (bullet) hit him in the face and another in the back,” Aguilera described.<\/p>\n
Aguilera said her husband of less than two weeks had not received any threats.<\/p>\n
The Decameron Hotel, where the couple were staying, said in a statement that “assassins arrived on the beach… and attacked and murdered one of our guests.”<\/p>\n
The motive for the killing was not immediately known, but Paraguayan prosecutor Augusto Salas, a colleague of Pecci, said the modus operandi was “typical of the (drug) mafia, so that is what I will think until the contrary is proven.”<\/p>\n
Colombian police chief Jorge Luis Vargas said five homicide investigators have been dispatched to Baru, and will receive backing from Paraguayan and US experts.<\/p>\n
“There is information being collected… that will help us identify those responsible,” Vargas said.<\/p>\n
Colombian President Ivan Duque “denounced” the killing on Twitter and said he had offered condolences to his Paraguayan counterpart Mario Abdo Benitez and vowed “cooperation to find those responsible.”<\/p>\n
For his part, Benitez said on Twitter: “The entire Paraguayan nation mourns the cowardly murder of prosecutor Marcelo Pecci in Colombia.<\/p>\n
“We condemn this tragic event in the strongest terms, and we redouble our commitment to fighting organized crime,” he added.<\/p>\n
Pecci’s office said in a statement steps were being taken “to provide assistance and guarantee the safety of his family.”<\/p>\n
Pecci had specialized in organized crime, drug trafficking, money laundering and the financing of terrorism.<\/p>\n
He was involved in investigations against Brazilian footballer Ronaldinho, held in Paraguay for several months in 2020 over a fake passport scandal.<\/p>\n
He also led an operation that led to the seizure of dozens of properties acquired through money laundering, and the arrest of some 30 people this year.<\/p>\n
The US embassy in Paraguay offered its condolences to Pecci’s loved ones and hailed his “commitment, professionalism and dedication to the fight against organized crime.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bogota, May 11 (AFP\/APP):Paraguayan anti-drug prosecutor Marcelo Pecci was shot dead execution-style Tuesday while honeymooning on a Colombian Caribbean island by men who fled by sea, police and his widow said. Paraguay’s president denounced the crime as a “cowardly murder” and a fellow prosecutor said […]<\/p>\n
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