“We are innocent” and “there was never a loan on the truck”: the captain’s words in his defense

By José María Costa, La Nación/GDA
Retired Captain Carlos Guido PerezOne of eight people arrested in connection with the disappearance Danilo Pena loanThe boy was last seen on June 13 and he insisted that he and his wife, a former municipal official, Maria Victoria Keravais innocent and said the boy was never in his truck or his wife’s car.

“We are innocent. We all regret the disappearance of Loan.”, the retired sailor said during his investigative statement before Goya federal judge Cristina Pozel Penzo, who is in charge of the investigation.

Perez and his wife are accused of kidnapping and harboring five-year-old Lorne. The retired sailor testified via videoconference from the Guemes prison in Salta, where he is being held.

When Perez talks about trucks and cars, he is referring to a white Ford Ranger and a Ford Fiesta Ka. Expert opinion by the Corrientes Security Department’s Forensic Odorology Team using specially trained dogs determined that traces of the loaner’s scent were present in both vehicles.

“I assure you, the loan was never in the truck or the car. I don’t understand. It could have been contaminated by the brother (of the missing children) who was in the truck,” Perez said during the investigation.

In addition, experts from various fields Argentine Federal Police (PFA) managed to remove male DNA from the right front fender of Perez’s truck, but due to the scarcity of genetic samples, no comparison could be made to determine who it belonged to.

Photo: La Nación/GDA.

Perez, 61, also mentioned that Lorne’s aunt, Laudelina Peña, insisted in a statement that her nephew was run over and killed by the captain in a Ford Ranger truck.

“The question of being run over is out of the question, everyone sees us, we walk at human speed, we collide with animals with our vehicles,” the retired sailor said.

During his statement, Judge Pozel Penzo asked Perez if he suspected anyone. The retired captain’s target was Bernardino Antonio Benitez, the partner of Lorne’s aunt, Laudelina Pena.

“Yes, I had my doubts. Seeing Benítez’s return caught my attention (on match day) Loans disappear) shirtless, sweating, running. I saw him wandering around, disoriented, not talking to anyone. He struck me as someone who was not normal,” Perez said.

Regarding the cause of Loan’s disappearance, Perez said the boy’s grandmother, Catalina Pena, who hosted a luncheon shortly before the boy was last seen, said “it was revenge” and “spoke about very heavy family affairs, that they had not spoken to Loan’s mother, that they were not getting along with the child’s partner.”

At this point he returns to partnering with Laudelina Pena. “Benitez will be one of those who will have family problems with Catalina,” assured Perez.

Regarding the charges against him and his wife, the retired sailor said: “Because of the charges, we are an organization that traffics in kidnappers. I do not rule out the existence of a real national organization.”

Kayawa was also questioned yesterday. She also insisted she had nothing to do with Lorne’s disappearance. She said those who targeted her and her husband did so because of her status as a federal informant linking them to drug sales in the quiet town of New July.

Photo: Diffusion.

“I want to comment, I’m scared to do it (testify) because my family is at risk, but I feel like I’m the only idiot in town who worked with Goya and the Buenos Aires Federal Police to discover who was selling drugs in town and everyone knew about it, but no one said anything. Brisa Contreras is the one who accused me on Crónica TV, she’s a partner of one of the biggest drug dealers in town, I’ve been working with her for two years and she lied,” Carava said before answering questions from the judge and the Ministry of Public Finance.

He added: “Another person who showed up at the hospital claiming to be also the wife of a big drug dealer in my town, I gave her information about them and I know it appeared in the newspaper media, please protect the children. Here a mother and father lost their children, I am a mother and grandmother and I am worried about my family. I always cooperate as much as I can and I am the only one who has cooperated over the years, putting myself in danger so that this doesn’t happen, I don’t want my grandchildren to end up taking drugs like the kids I see at school. Laudlina made me understand that the loan was coming, it wasn’t that he was lost, it was that I wasn’t going to the games. I was hurt and they took advantage of the situation and it is all verifiable. Our truck was not parked on the road and we never had a loan.”

According to a former New July city government official, she and her partner had nothing to do with the case: “We were imprisoned unjustly. We are innocent. Good people who contribute and pay all the taxes, do good jobs, and we have never had a problem with justice.”

At this, the woman broke down and said, “I’m just asking you to protect my grandchildren and my family. I want them to be protected, and I don’t regret cooperating. I would do it again. “They used our operation to get rid of federal informants.”