Colombia arrests two more over killing of Paraguay prosecutor

COLOMBIA-PARAGUAY-CRIME-PECCI-ARREST

Handout picture released by Colombian Prosecutor’s press office showing two suspects allegedly involved in the murder of Paraguayan prosecutor Daniel Pecci last year during his honeymoon in a beach near Cartagena, while being presented in Bogota on January 15, 2023. (Photo by Handout / COLOMBIAN PROSECUTOR’S PRESS OFFICE / AFP)

Bogotá, Colombia — Two more people have been arrested in Colombia on suspicion of involvement in the murder of Paraguayan anti-mafia prosecutor Marcelo Pecci, the attorney general’s office said on Sunday.

Their arrests bring to eight the number of people detained in connection with the hit last year.

“These two people were apparently responsible for… logistics” of the murder on May 10, 2022, in Colombia, Attorney General Francisco Barbosa told journalists.

Pecci was in Colombia with his wife on their honeymoon when he was gunned down on the island of Baru, near the tourist port of Cartagena on the Caribbean coast.

Barbosa said the two detainees “coordinated the execution of the crime and met with people directly involved in this event.”

Pecci was a prosecutor specializing in organized crime, drug trafficking, money laundering and terrorist financing.

Colombian, Paraguayan and US authorities are searching for the masterminds of the assassination, who they say are linked to drug trafficking networks.

The United States has offered a $5 million reward for information on his killing.

Four of the eight people arrested so far, including the hitman, pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 23 years in prison in June.

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