Loan Peña disappearance trial advances in Corrientes

The federal oral trial for the disappearance of 5‑year‑old Loan Danilo Peña in Corrientes Province resumed on 24 June after a brief pause. Seventeen defendants are on trial – seven in the main case and ten in a parallel proceeding – including the boy’s aunt Laudelina Peña, her husband Antonio Benítez, former police chief Walter Maciel, former municipal employee María Victoria Caillava, ex‑naval officer Carlos Pérez and others.

The third hearing featured the first testimonies from the parents, María Noguera and José Peña, and the court accepted a request to call former politician Elisa Carrió as a witness for the defence of Laudelina Peña. Judges Fermín Amado Ceroleni, Eduardo Ariel Belforte and Simón Pedro Bracco presided. Several accused, including Pérez, exercised their right to remain silent, while the defence raised procedural challenges after the irregular appearance of accused Federico Rossi Colombo, who was declared in rebeldía and later joined the hearing via Zoom, prompting a reset of the proceedings. The prosecution argues that the defendants formed a band that abducted and hid the child, and the trial is expected to continue for at least six months.