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[CRIME] · Argentina · 7 sources

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Loan Peña trial in Corrientes marked by courtroom clash and new witnesses

The twelfth hearing of the trial over the disappearance of five‑year‑old Loan Peña was held on Thursday at the Federal Oral Court No. 1 in Corrientes, Argentina. Three witnesses – former vice‑intendente Luis Alberto González, Federal Police forensic expert Juan Osvaldo Ronelli and Police Federal commissioner Fabio Pirrone – testified. During the session defendant Antonio Benítez suffered a high‑blood‑pressure episode and was removed from the courtroom.

A heated confrontation erupted between prosecutor Carlos Schaefer and defence lawyers Rodolfo Baqué and Martín Leiro, prompting Judge Fermín Ceroleni to declare a quarter‑intermediate recess. The judge later resumed the hearing and scheduled the next session for the following Wednesday at 9:30 a.m., with four new witnesses: Leticia Risco, Santiago Fabián Maidana, Ángel Fabián Duarte and Guillermo Gustavo Romero.

Comisario mayor Fabio Pirrone later testified that the child “was not lost”, noting that extensive searches—including more than 50 DNA studies—produced no evidence of a disappearance or trafficking. The trial also examines allegations that the municipality transferred public funds to the Fundación Dupuy for the search, with mayor Hugo Sebastián Insaurral allegedly failing to inform the city council of the payment.

Entities

Antonio Benítez · Carlos Schaefer · Corrientes · Fabio Pirrone · Fermín Ceroleni · Fundación Dupuy · Hugo Sebastián Insaurral · Loan Peña · Luis Alberto González

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