The anguish intensifies in the municipality of 9 de Julio, Corrientes, as the days pass without news of Loan Danilo Peña, a 5-year-old boy who disappeared nine days ago. Initially, the search focused on the possibility that the boy got lost in the mountains while looking for oranges with family and friends, but new evidence diverted the investigation towards a possible kidnapping, complicating the situation for several people involved, including officials premises and the commissioner in charge of the case.
On Friday afternoon, the reconstruction of the events involved Bernardino Antonio Benítez, Loan’s uncle, and a couple of friends, Mónica del Carmen Millapi and Daniel Oscar “Fierrito” Ramírez, who were already detained under preventive detention. During the operation, tracking dogs were used that followed Loan’s trail to two vehicles belonging to a couple who attended lunch at the child’s grandmother’s house on the day of the disappearance. The results of the tests were conclusive: one of the vehicles showed positive traces of Loan, while the other showed partially positive results.
Given these new indications, the prosecutor’s office ordered the arrest of María Victoria Caillava, Director of Production of the Municipality of 9 de Julio, and her husband, Carlos Pérez, a former prefect of the Navy. The couple had been authorized by Commissioner Walter Maciel, who led the initial search, to travel to the city of Corrientes the day after the disappearance, supposedly for medical reasons. This decision put Maciel under the scrutiny of investigators, also resulting in his arrest.
Before being arrested, Pérez and Caillava gave an interview to TN, in which Pérez recalled a disconcerting incident that occurred days before the disappearance. He reported seeing a gray car dragging dogs with ropes, an image that had a profound impact on him. Despite the shock, he did not directly link this event to Loan’s disappearance.
The video of the official’s arrest
At lunch at the boy’s grandmother’s house, Pérez claimed to have remained seated the entire time, flanked by his wife and Loan’s father, which, according to him, would have prevented him from moving without being noticed. In the interview, he flatly denied any involvement in the minor’s disappearance.
For now, the detainees are expected to give statements this Saturday morning, in an attempt to clarify Loan’s whereabouts.
