ASUNCION (Reuters) – The United States on Thursday said it was offering a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of those responsible for the murder of a Paraguayan organized crime prosecutor in May.
Marcelo Pecci, 45, was shot dead on the island of Barú, near the Caribbean city of Cartagena, while on his honeymoon.
“The assassination of prosecutor Pecci was a direct attack on the rule of law in Paraguay and the United States stands with the Paraguayan people and against those who seek to harm those who heroically work in public service,” the US ambassador in Asunción, Marc Ostfield, told reporters.
The offer comes five months after a Colombian judge sentenced four people to 23 years in prison in connection with Pecci’s murder, with a fifth awaiting trial.
The State Department has paid out more than $155 million in bounties in a designation rewards program targeted at transnational organized crime established in 2013, according to a document presented at the embassy.
(Reporting by Daniela Desantis; Editing by Nick Macfie)
