It is on the front page of much of the press in both countries. On Tuesday morning, Paraguayan drug prosecutor Marcelo Pecci was shot dead in Colombia. He was on his honeymoon on a private beach on the island of Baru, near Cartagena. A few minutes after announcing on Instagram that he was expecting a child, he was shot dead by two armed men who arrived by sea on a jet ski. None have yet been arrested, but an alleged photo of one has surfaced. ” Colombian police have quadrupled the reward for any help in locating them “, note Ultima Hora.
“ The mafia is killing us “, can we read in red letters in one ofUltima Hora, because everything suggests that the murder of Marcelo Pecci was ordered from Paraguay. The prosecutor specialized in organized crime. He “ had proven experience in anti-drug trafficking, money laundering and terrorist financing units “, noted Ultima Hora.
‘No threat’
Marcelo Pecci had participated in seizures of cocaine shipments on Paraguayan soil. Above all, continue The Spectator in Colombia, he had worked on ” one of the most publicized surveys in recent months “. She ” resulted in over 40 arrests, as well as the seizure of property and vehicles “of a criminal structure” whose tentacles apparently extended as far as Colombia “.
However, the wife of the murdered prosecutor maintains that he had received no threat, in an interview given to the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo. Marcelo Pecci had no close security in Colombia, as it was a private trip. Paraguay’s ambassador to Colombia says she was unaware of his presence in the country. The private beach, she adds, was only accessible by the hotel’s guarded entrance or by water: that’s what the assassins chose “. ” An unprecedented form of murder in Colombia “, precise The Spectator.
In the Paraguayan daily the nation, the vice-president of the Association of Prosecutors of Paraguay denounces ” the lack of budget of the Public Ministry, which prevents it from having sufficient resources to ensure its security. She points the finger directly at Congress for these budget cuts “.
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Haiti: impunity, the norm
Le Nouvelliste devotes his editorial of the day to the massacre of the Plaine du Cul-de-Sac, northeast of Port-au-Prince. After deadly clashes between the gangs of Chen Mechan and 400 Mawozo who were trying to regain control of this vast area, the National Network for the Defense of Human Rights (RNDDH) puts the death toll at 148, and “ a massacre of incredible cruelty “. Almost four years ago, wrote Le Nouvelliste, ” the population of La Saline had known hell. Men, women, young children were brutally killed “. Local and international human rights organizations had to insist ” so that the authorities at the time would agree to admit that something serious, even very serious, had happened “.
But today, the perpetrators and sponsors of these crimes ” still go about their business peacefully », continues the great Haitian daily, and « the Plaine du Cul-de-Sac counts dozens of deaths almost in the same conditions in a country where impunity is the norm “. ” The country is still awaiting Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s message of sympathy to the relatives of the victims. What he has already done for the victims of the explosion in Cuba “Launches the editorialist. He also notes the contrast between this report from the Haitian NGO and the satisfaction that the head of the National Police of Haiti had given himself the day before.
► To read also: Haiti: at least 75 dead after clashes between gangs near Port-au-Prince
Former Honduran president pleads not guilty
Head to the United States where former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez pleaded not guilty on Tuesday in a New York court. He is being prosecuted for drug trafficking. This ” not guilty was pronounced so hesitant and nervous “, valued The Heraldofollowing a hearing of 33 minutes ” only. The trial itself will begin on September 28 and “ could last up to a year “. Juan Orlando Hernandez’s lawyer assures that he intends to call as witnesses Donald Trump and Joe Biden, who had in the past ” lauded his fight against drug trafficking “, note La Prensa.
Many Hondurans had gathered outside the court yesterday, says La Prensa, to ask for life imprisonment against the one who led their country for eight years. At the same time, the former Honduran police chief, Juan Carlos Bonilla, nicknamed The Tiger, has also extradited to the United States. He is accused of having played a key role in this vast drug trafficking towards the United States.
► To read also: Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez has been extradited to the United States
In Canada, a freshwater whale
We end this press review with the story of this minke whale, which ventured into the waters of the St. Lawrence River in Montreal. It has been observed there since last weekend, to the delight of the curious. However, when the Quebec Marine Mammal Emergency Network spotted it on Tuesday morning, ” it’s more of a disappointment “, writes the newspaper The Press. The volunteers hope that the minke whale will turn back and return to its natural habitat, 450 km away.
” The longer it stays in fresh water, the lower its chances of survival. “, summarizes the Montreal Journal. Because normally the whale lives in salt water, which protects it in particular from algae. The color of his skin may turn increasingly brown as a colony of algae settles on its back which can also create lesions and infections. Another risk, continues The Press : a collision with a boat. The animal was located near the most important port in eastern Canada. Impossible to help him, he must leave alone, explain the volunteers. Because there is no “of technique to repel a marine animal of this size so far “.