Hit men execute Uruguayan drug trafficker in Palermo with keycard and silenced pistol
Carlos Migales Viera, a suspected 31-year-old Uruguayan drug trafficker, was murdered by four hit men in a Buenos Aires apartment. Two suspects aged 20 and 21 were detained.
Uruguayan drug trafficker executed in Buenos Aires: four hit men entered with keycard and silenced pistol
A group of four hit men entered a building in Palermo, Buenos Aires, using a copy of the magnetic keycard, proceeded to apartment 3 on the second floor and executed Carlos Andrés Migales Viera, a suspected 31-year-old Uruguayan drug trafficker, in front of his wife. According to elpais.com.uy, the assassins took nothing and fled the scene. The killing occurred just after 3 a.m. on Costa Rica street at number 5600.
"They came in, killed him and left," two sources involved in the investigation summarised, cited by the outlet. Investigators have no doubt that it was a settling of scores linked to the seizure of a drug shipment in Montevideo as part of what is known as Operation Tracer.
Two detainees and the recovered weapon
Two suspects have been detained in connection with the homicide: two young men aged 20 and 21 who were questioned hours after the crime. A third detainee, found near where the suspects were captured, could recover his freedom in the coming hours as he appears to have no connection to the hit men.
Judge Damián Kirszenbaum, the national criminal and correctional judge in charge of the case, ordered the investigation to be sealed. Prosecutor Anselmo Castelli and the Narcotics Prosecution Unit (Procunar), headed by federal prosecutor Diego Iglesias, are involved in the investigation.
Shortly after the crime, City Police officers seized a silenced pistol in the vicinity of the intersection of Santa Fe and Bullrich avenues, at the height of the Puente Pacífico. "The hit men used a silenced pistol," investigation sources confirmed.
The wife, key witness
The victim's wife gave a statement as a witness in recent hours. For security reasons, she was taken to the Courthouse in a patrol car. Investigators consider her a crucial piece in reconstructing Migales Viera's final hours and determining whether he had received prior threats before the attack.
One of the detainees was allegedly a "partner" of the drug trafficker murdered in Palermo, according to sources familiar with the case.
Operation Tracer and the 2 million dollar shipment
The investigators' main hypothesis points to revenge related to Operation Tracer, carried out by the Uruguayan National Police. In that operation, executed in mid-last month, 141,590 kilos of cocaine paste and 124,154 kilos of cocaine were seized—265 kilos of drugs in total—valued at 2 million dollars. The drug gang that Migales Viera belonged to was identified as responsible for that shipment.
The operation involved the General Directorate for Suppression of Illegal Drug Trafficking (Dgrtid) and the Investigations Division of the National Naval Prefecture (Divin), which acted jointly following the search warrant order handed down by the Prosecution.
Uruguayan Interior Minister Carlos Negro stated at a press conference that the procedure "does not constitute an isolated incident, but adds to a series of operations carried out by the National Police over the last six months, which have allowed us to intervene in major criminal structures, seize drugs and confiscate high-value assets and vehicles".
A target since age 14
Migales Viera, born on 18 December 1994, accumulated a criminal record from adolescence. At the age of 14 he was questioned about theft. In September 2012 he was charged with his alleged participation in a homicide, and later had cases involving escape from a police station and armed robberies. He was subsequently charged with drug trafficking and in 2024 was questioned again for a homicide.
In August last year an attempt had already been made on his life in Villa Colón, Montevideo: on that occasion he was shot at during the early morning hours by criminals posing as police officers. Following that attack, he decided to move to Argentina. He knew, according to sources consulted, that his "head had a price".
With information from Gabriel Di Nicola from La Nación/GDA
Source: Google News AR — Crime