Prosecutor killed on beach

Paraguay’s prosecutor of organised crime and drug trafficking cases has been killed by gunmen on a Colombian beach as he honeymooned with his new wife.

Prosecutor Marcelo Pecci married journalist Claudia Aguilera in April.

Ms Aguilera had recently shared photos on social media showing her and Mr Pecci on the Baru peninsula in the Caribbean, south of the Colombian city of Cartagena.

Her final social media posting, hours before the attack, was a photo of herself and her husband with a pair of baby’s shoes along with the message: “The best wedding gift ... the approaching life that is a testimony to the sweetest love.”

The Decameron Baru Hotel, where the couple were staying, said the attackers arrived on a jet ski and shot the couple while they were on the beach.

The gunmen also fired at a security guard, who was unhurt, the hotel said.

Ms Aguilera, who was not hurt in the attack, said two attackers came on a small boat or jet ski, saying she could not remember precisely.

One of them got off and “without saying a word shot Marcelo twice, once in the face and once in the back”.

Colombia’s foreign minister and vice-president Marta Lucia Ramirez said authorities were working to clarify “the motives and authors of this heinous crime”.

A “high command” criminal investigation unit had been sent to Cartagena, Colombian defence minister Diego Molano said.

Paraguayan and US officials will be integrated into the unit to help identify and prosecute the perpetrators, police said.

Mr Pecci was investigating several highprofile cases in Paraguay, including a shooting at a concert in January where an alleged drug trafficker and a football player’s wife were killed.

Paraguayan president Mario Abdo Benitez condemned the “cowardly murder” of the prosecutor on Twitter. He vowed to redouble Paraguay’s efforts against organised crime.

The director of Colombia’s national police, General Jorge Luis Vargas, said he had not been aware that Mr Pecci was in Colombia. He said Mr Pecci was one of the most heavily guarded people in Paraguay since he “investigated cases of international terrorism”.

Attorney general of Paraguay Sandra Quiñonez, right, prays to a Virgin Mary statue after hearing of the killing.

TARGETED: Marcelo Pecci was shot while honeymooning.