Sister of man shot by Dicrim in La Paz questions police version
Aneury Cabrera died shot by Dicrim agents in the National District. His sister claims he was unarmed and contradicts the official account.
"He was a thief, but they didn't have to kill him like that": family of man shot in Ensanche La Paz rejects Dicrim version
The last time Judith Estévez saw her younger brother alive was near midnight. Aneury Santiago Cabrera Estévez arrived at her house, sat on a staircase and asked for a cigarette. Hours later, on Tuesday afternoon, he died shot by agents of the Central Directorate of Investigation (Dicrim) in Ensanche La Paz, in the National District, according to diariolibre.com.
The Police maintain that Aneury fired at a patrol before being wounded. His sister categorically rejects that version.
The family's account
Judith, 46, does not hide her brother's history. She acknowledges that he stole, used drugs and had spent much of his life in prison. What she questions is the conduct of the agents.
"I'm not defending wrongdoing. I'm realistic and I tell the truth that my brother was a thief," she stated. "They didn't have to kill him like that. Because he has family. He has a daughter who is studying medicine. And he has relatives who care about him."
During that last nocturnal visit, Judith urged her brother to turn himself in to the authorities, who were seeking him for several criminal offences. The conversation ended in an argument. Aneury, known in his neighbourhood as "La Araña", refused to return to prison and asked her to leave him alone.
Judith was cooking at her home in El Manguito when she learnt that her brother had possibly been killed. The description of the clothing that circulated increased her suspicions: a red cap and a black jacket with a white detail, the same clothes that Aneury was wearing during the early morning visit. She later received a video and recognised his way of walking. An injury to his femur caused him to limp.
Background and final weeks of freedom
According to Judith, Aneury had been held in Najayo, La Victoria, Anamuya and the La Romana model prison. He spent ten years in Anamuya, and his most recent sentence was five years in La Romana, from where he had been released approximately one month before his death.
She affirmed that his previous convictions were solely for theft and denied that he had committed murders or used firearms. "He never killed anyone, and he never stabbed anyone, as they want to claim. And he never used a gun," she maintained.
When he was released from prison, Judith bought him a bed and other items. According to her explanation, her brother did not lack food or a place to live. She also recalled a period when Aneury set up a small fried food business. That attempt at change, she assured, ended after some police officers attributed drug possession to him—an accusation she considers false—a matter for which he had to pay a fine and cover legal assistance.
Faced with new allegations against him in the weeks before his death, Judith offered to accompany him to turn himself in. "If the problem is that you don't want to turn yourself in to the Police, I'll turn you in. I have ways to turn you in and people to turn you in to. I'll take you there myself to the Palace," she recalled telling him.
What the video shows
The incident occurred at the intersection of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Primera streets. In a press release, the Police reported that Aneury died whilst receiving medical attention, after being wounded while engaging in a shootout with Dicrim members. Police Scientific Technicians recovered a RETAY XR pistol, calibre .380, a magazine and three cartridges at the scene. According to the statement, the deceased was carrying the weapon illegally.
However, a recording circulated on social networks shows agents shooting at the man, with no indication in the fragment that he drew a weapon or fired at the patrol. Judith believes those images contradict the official account. She interprets that her brother raised a hand to ask them not to shoot, and she reported that he suffered four impacts, some when he was already on the ground.
Judith also rejected the nicknames released by the police institution. She explained that he was called "La Araña" because, during his time in Najayo prison, he used to climb the elevated structures when riots broke out. "He is not the devil's son. They called him La Araña," she said.
There is also a discrepancy about his age: the Police reported that he was 38 years old, whilst his sister maintained that he was 41.
Life in El Manguito
Aneury was the father of two children. The eldest, around 22 years old, studies Medicine at the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD). The youngest is around nine years old and does not maintain contact with the paternal family.
In El Manguito, where he lived alone with two small dogs, several neighbours recognise his background, although they describe a coexistence without aggression towards them. "At least he didn't harm me. And he didn't harm many people around here," said Tania Beltré.
Her husband, Pedro Figueroa, recounted that on one occasion Aneury intervened to prevent some strangers from robbing an elderly man who was carrying around 180,000 pesos. Tania said that Aneury used to remain near her home and sometimes assured her that he was keeping watch to protect it. Both said they never saw him with a pistol, although Pedro claimed to have seen him carry a small knife.
Recalling the last encounter, Judith said that she had observed her brother through a security camera sitting on the staircase before he left. Now she interprets that visit, unusual at that hour, as a possible farewell.
On the Ensanche La Paz street where he was found wounded, a faint blood stain remained when the Diario Libre team visited the location. Residents had resumed their normal activities, although several avoided talking about what had occurred.
Source: Google News BO — La Paz