MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguay: Mrs. Heber's murder suspect granted house arrest

Luis Alberto Heber pushed for the case regarding his mother's murder to be reopened

Uruguay's Judiciary Friday granted house arrest to Deputy Commissioner Ricardo Zabala, who has been indicted for the 1978 murder of Cecilia Fontana, mother of former Interior Minister Luis Alberto Heber. As per Judge Verónica Ester Pena Molina's decision, Zabala was moved to a seaside resort residence citing health problems. He is the only person prosecuted for that crime. The case has resurfaced in recent years.

Senator Heber's mother died in 1978 after ingesting poisoned wine that had been given to her husband, National Party leader Mario Heber. Two similar bottles, also poisoned, were sent to future President Luis Alberto Lacalle Herrera and Carlos Julio Pereyra in a move to intimidate opponents of the military regime while spreading fear among Uruguayan society.

Between 1985 and 1986, a Senatorial Committee investigated the case, taking testimony from then-Interior Minister Carlos Manini Ríos, as well as repressors linked to the National Directorate of Information and Intelligence and the Narcotics Brigade. The committee's final report was presented on August 26, 1986. It failed to establish clear conclusions about responsibilities in the case, leaving many questions unanswered.

The case was reopened in 2006 but shelved again in 2017. However, in January 2020, her son, Luis Alberto Heber, again requested another reopening. In December 2023, the prosecutor's office specializing in crimes against humanity requested the prosecution of Juan Ricardo Zabala, a former member of the Defense Information Service, for his role in the murder. The evidence against him included his fingerprints on the bottle of poisoned wine. On Oct. 18, 2024, Zabala was indicted for aggravated homicide.