A dispute over the possession of two tugboats has escalated into a formal complaint against prosecutor Aldo Cantero, who is accused by defense lawyers of rushing an indictment without proper evidence. The case, reported by Ultima Hora, involves the vessels Orgullo and Ko’eti, which were leased in 2023 between owner Naviera Cono Sur and client HyA SA, represented by shipowner Francisco Vera Figueredo.
According to the defense attorney Eduardo Bernal, the owner unilaterally terminated the contract in April 2024 despite an addendum extending it to 2026. Bernal claims his clients, captains Andrónico Rolón and Carlos Santos, invested approximately USD 800,000 in improvements to the vessels, which the owner refused to recognize. When the owner sent another captain to recover the boats in April, the captains refused to hand them over, citing a court-ordered immobilization measure from a Lambaré court. The Prefectura General Naval was called in.
The case passed through several prosecutors. Initially, prosecutor Claide Acosta visited the vessels in May, and later prosecutor Andrea Vera indicted Vera and the two captains in February 2025 on charges of appropriation, coercion, and endangering river traffic. After a recusal, the case landed with prosecutor Aldo Cantero, who was temporarily assigned for two weeks. Bernal alleges that Cantero requested an expedited deadline to file the conclusive requirement and issued the indictment without waiting for a judge’s decision on the timeline. “He came in only for that, to accuse and leave,” Bernal told Ultima Hora, calling Cantero the “prosecutor’s sledgehammer.”
Bernal further claims that the indictment mentions the captains preventing recovery with shouts and thrown objects, but no evidence of such coercion appears in the official records. He also disputes that the vessels were blocked, showing a photo where the tugboats appear unobstructed. The defense had requested dismissal, but Cantero’s indictment was later ratified by prosecutor Maricel Orihuela in a preliminary hearing, and the case was sent to trial.
Prosecutor Cantero denied the allegations, stating, “Everything is in the evidentiary material and it has already been sent to trial, meaning it passed through a Criminal Guarantees Court.” He added that he fully stands by the indictment and will not debate the case in the media. Cantero noted that he had served in the Barrial 5 unit for six years and often handled cases temporarily during recusals. He asserted, “With 100% certainty, I say these criminals committed coercion and were pressured to keep quiet,” and suggested that the lessees had removed GPS devices, possibly to commit fuel-related crimes—though this claim is not in the indictment.