Corrientes federal court hears testimony in the disappearance of 5‑year‑old Loan Peña

The Federal Oral Court in Corrientes, Argentina, is hearing the trial over the disappearance of 5‑year‑old Loan Peña, who vanished on 13 June 2024 after a family lunch at his grandmother’s house in the town of 9 de Julio. Aunt Lidia Noguera testified that, before the boy went missing, Antonio Benítez gave Loan an orange and that Benítez, along with Daniel Ramírez and Mónica Milla, were present at the nearby orange grove. Noguera also recounted that the boy’s body was later reported on social media and subsequently found in mud, a discovery she described as unusual because she had visited the spot earlier that morning without seeing anything.

Separately, Loan’s parents and siblings filed a written complaint with the same court, alleging that defence lawyer Enzo Di Tella, representing accused Bernardino Antonio Benítez, behaved in a manner that threatened the dignity of the victims and the court’s staff. The family asked the judges to take disciplinary measures to ensure respectful treatment of victims during the proceedings.