MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Colombia: Five arrested in Pecci's murder probe

Barbosa explained the arrests were made in two operations

Colombian authorities have arrested five people in the city of Medellín, presumably linked to the murder of Paraguayan Prosecutor Marcelo Pecci while he was honeymooning at an exclusive Caribbean beach resort in Cartagena de Indias, Attorney General Francisco Barbosa announced Friday.

The authorities, however, did not specify in what way those apprehended were connected to the case, which, according to witnesses, was the doing of two hitmen on jetskis.

Colombia's President Iván Duque, who is on an official trip to the United States, later described the arrests as the result of “an intelligence operation, of meticulous work,” which “has allowed us to reach this criminal structure and these criminals, who will be placed at the disposal of a supervisory judge.”

“Once again our authorities act and act with speed to show the world that no one is above the law,” Duque told reporters while in Washington DC, attending celebrations of 200 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Barbosa explained the arrests were made in two operations carried out by the Police and the Technical Investigation Corps of the Prosecutor's Office.

Pecci and his wife, journalist Claudia Aguilera, arrived privately in Colombia. Hence the lack of a police escort despite being a high-risk figure. He was shot dead May 10 in the island of Baru.

Colombian authorities had released a sketch of the alleged perpetrator, a tall man, dressed in black, wearing glasses and a hat, and offered a reward for tips leading to his capture.

The multiple arrests came just one day after Interior Minister Daniel Palacio and National Police Director General Jorge Luis Vargas met in Asunción with President Mario Abdo Benítez, who said on Twitter that “police and prosecutors from both countries” were seeking justice cooperatively.