Murder of journalist Pablo Medina in Canindeyú: all those convicted
The ABC Color correspondent was ambushed and murdered on 16 October 2014 in Villa Ygatimí. District governor Vilmar "Neneco" Acosta was sentenced to 39 years.
The correspondent who investigated narco-politics and was eliminated for it
Pablo Medina Velázquez worked as a correspondent for ABC Color in Canindeyú from 2 May 1998 until 16 October 2014, the date on which he was murdered at the age of 53. According to abc.com.py, the crime occurred in the municipality of Villa Ygatimí whilst Medina was returning from covering a story and driving his pick-up truck towards the Regional Office in Curuguaty, where he lived with his family.
In the vehicle were also sisters Antonia Maribel Almada Chamorro, aged 19—who died in the attack—and Juana Ruth Almada Chamorro, aged 30, who survived because the hired killers did not detect her: she threw herself to the floor in the back seat.
The perpetrators of the attack
The attack was carried out by Wilson Acosta Marques, aged 43, and his nephew Flavio Acosta Riveros, aged 29. Wilson used a 12-calibre shotgun; Flavio, a 9-millimetre pistol.
The mastermind was Vilmar Acosta Marques, aged 39, alias "Neneco", district governor of the neighbouring district of Ypejhú and brother of Wilson. A key accomplice was Arnaldo Javier Cabrera López, aged 37, secretary to the district governor, whose telephone was used to coordinate the attack.
Pablo Medina was eliminated because he investigated and published reports on the criminal organisation run by "Neneco". The gang specialised in contract killings and drug trafficking, and even committed politically motivated murders, including that of Julián Núñez Benítez, whose only "sin" was attempting to contest the district governorship against the gang leader.
The arrests and convictions
Arnaldo Javier Cabrera López was the first to be apprehended, arrested on 8 December 2014 in Ypejhú. He confirmed the participation of "Neneco" and his relatives, and was sentenced to five years in prison, a sentence he served in the Specialised Unit in Asunción.
Vilmar "Neneco" Acosta Marques was captured on 4 March 2015 in Caarapó, state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, and extradited to Paraguay on 17 November of that same year. He was sentenced to a total of 39 years in prison. At the end of last year he suffered a serious heart condition, but survived and remains imprisoned.
Flavio Acosta Riveros was arrested on 9 January 2016 in Pato Branco, state of Paraná, Brazil. By presenting Brazilian documentation, he avoided extradition: he was tried in Brazil and sentenced to 36 years in prison for the double homicide committed in Paraguayan territory.
Wilson Acosta Marques was arrested on 29 May 2020 in Chapada dos Guimarães, state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. Like his nephew, he presented Brazilian documents and also evaded extradition to Paraguay. However, he was sentenced in Brazil to 63 years in prison for other crimes committed in that country.
Source: Google News PY — Crime