CARACAS, (Reuters) – A Venezuelan man has been arrested for his alleged involvement in the May murder of a Paraguayan prosecutor in Colombia, Venezuela’s interior minister said yesterday.
Gabriel Salinas was arrested on Tuesday at a routine checkpoint east of Venezuela’s capital Caracas when he was found to have an outstanding arrest warrant, Interior Minister Remigio Ceballos said.
Salinas is accused of participating in the murder of Paraguayan anti-mafia prosecutor Marcelo Pecci, 45, who was shot dead while on his honeymoon on an island near the Caribbean city of Cartagena.
Pecci was known for fighting organized crime and Colombian authorities have pointed to Brazilian prison gang First Capital Command (PCC) as being behind the attack.
Salinas allegedly drove a jet ski carrying the shooter to and from the beach where Pecci was murdered on May 10, according to Ceballos. He will be tried in Venezuela, Ceballos added.
Four others have been sentenced in Colombia to 23 years and six months in jail earlier this year for their involvement in Pecci’s murder.