Prosecutor Diego Higinio Benítez Gamarra, from the Zonal Prosecutor's Office of Alberdi's Penal Unit 2, ordered the preventive detention of eight police officers on Monday for their alleged participation in the homicide of a young man, a case that is being treated as a possible "trigger-happy" killing.
The officers, all from the tactical group, were identified as Martín Santa Cruz, Willian Ayala, Maicol Santa Cruz, Jonathan Valdez, Cristian Velozo, Inocencio Gálvez, Ariel Ayala, and Néstor Pérez. They will be held at the Ñeembucú Police Headquarters, with the possibility of being transferred to a specialized unit in Asunción.
The incident occurred last Sunday on route PY19 in Alberdi, Ñeembucú department. According to investigations by the Public Ministry, the officers fired 33 shots at the vehicle driven by 22-year-old Federick Nahuel Cáceres Sosa, who allegedly failed to comply with an order to stop. The prosecutor confirmed that the victim had no criminal record and was not carrying a weapon in the car.
The detention decision was made after the Public Ministry's forensic doctor, Letizia Alfonso, completed the removal of the bullet from the young man's body, whose remains have already been returned to his family. The prosecution also collected evidence at the scene and took statements from the involved officers.
On Monday morning, family members, friends, and residents gathered in front of the Alberdi Prosecutor's Office in a peaceful protest, carrying signs and demanding justice and a transparent investigation into Federick's death. The protesters demanded that the case not go unpunished.
The involved officers were part of a blockade operation in the region following a violent supermarket robbery, in which the criminals allegedly used an ambulance to flee.