Armed group executes Brazilian woman and kidnaps man in Paraguay

An armed group of at least ten men wearing tactical clothing and carrying rifles carried out a violent attack in Pedro Juan Caballero, Paraguay, resulting in the death of a Brazilian woman and the kidnapping of her partner.

During the early hours of Monday, the group arrived in two pickup trucks and stormed a residence in the Obrero neighborhood. Carolina Benites Arce, a 27-year-old Brazilian woman, was executed on the sidewalk after reportedly attempting to prevent the kidnappers from taking her partner, 26-year-old Marcelo Juan Ortiz Moura.

Authorities later discovered the body of Ortiz Moura in the village of Cerro Corá'i with a plastic bag over his head. Investigations revealed that Ortiz Moura was a fugitive from the Brazilian justice system, wanted in connection with a 2020 drug trafficking case involving 815 kg of marijuana in Ponta Porã, Mato Grosso do Sul.

The Paraguayan Public Ministry has opened an investigation into the killings and the kidnapping. Police have collected security footage and mobile phones from the scene, and orders have been issued to seize the vehicles used by the criminals.