Paraguay Anti-Drug Mafia Prosecutor Shot Dead During Honeymoon, Perpetrator Flees On Jet Ski

Photo of Marcelo Pecci in glasses via Twitter @PecciMarcelo

JAKARTA - Paraguay is shrouded in a dark cloud in the fight against the rampant drug mafia. Prosecutor who has been passionate about fighting drugs, Marcelo Pecci was shot dead while on his honeymoon on a Colombian Caribbean island.

Quoted from Al Jazeera, Wednesday 11 May, Pecci (45 years) was hit by two shots on Tuesday 10 May yesterday. He was relaxing on the beach on the tourist island of Baru, at a resort near the city of Cartagena in the Karibi.

Pecci honeymooned with his wife, Paraguayan journalist, Claudia Aguilera, whom he married on April 30. And they are waiting for the birth of a child.

“Two men attacked Marcelo. They come in small boats, or by jet skis, actually I don't see very well," Claudia Aguilera told El Tiempo newspaper.

One of the attackers got out and "without a word he shot Marcelo twice, one [bullet] in his face and another in the back", Aguilera said.

Aguilera said her husband had never received any threats.

The motive for the murder is still being investigated. However, Paraguayan prosecutor Augusto Salas, a colleague of Pecci, Hakul believes that this typical murder is a typical modus operandi of the drug mafia.

"So that's what I'm going to think about until it's proven otherwise," Salas said.

Colombia's police chief, Jorge Luis Vargas, has sent five investigators to Baru. They will also receive support from Paraguayan and US experts.

"There is information being gathered ... which will help us identify those responsible," Vargas said.

Colombian President Ivan Duque condemned the killing on Twitter. Duque said he had extended his condolences to his Paraguayan counterpart Mario Abdo Benitez and would soon find the perpetrators.

Pecci specializes in organized crime, drug trafficking, money laundering and terrorism financing.

He was involved in an investigation into Brazilian footballer Ronaldinho, who was detained in Paraguay for several months in 2020 over a fake passport scandal.

He also led operations that led to the confiscation of dozens of properties obtained through money laundering, and the arrests of about 30 people this year.