Concepción, Paraguay - Authorities in the Concepción region of Paraguay have discovered a new hideout belonging to the armed group known as the 'Ejército del Mariscal López' (EML), intensifying the investigation into the 2016 kidnapping of rancher Félix Urbieta. The discovery is raising hopes for potential clues regarding Urbieta's fate and whereabouts.
The hideout was found within the "Andery Ranch" on a farm in the Loreto district of Concepción department. The operation was carried out by personnel from the Defense Internal Operations Command (CODI) and the National Police Anti-Terrorism Department, under the direction of Prosecutor Pablo Zarrate. This region has been the site of previous discoveries of EML hideouts.
Inside a plastic drum buried in the ground, investigators unearthed several items believed to have been used by the EML, including a laptop. Authorities are particularly focused on this laptop, as it may contain crucial information related to the whereabouts of the kidnapped Félix Urbieta. Various other items were also found within the drum.
Prosecutor Pablo Zarrate stated that the recovered materials would be transferred to the Anti-Terrorism Department's regional headquarters in Concepción for inventory and subsequent reporting to the relevant court. Zarrate emphasized the potential significance of the laptop, which may have belonged to Alejandro Ramos, a former leader of the EML. "These pieces of evidence, especially this laptop, are important because they could contain a lot of information, not only about Mr. Félix Urbieta but also about the Edelio Morínigo case. Ramos was also previously associated with the Paraguayan People's Army (EPP), a radical armed group," he added.
Liliana Urbieta, the daughter of the kidnapped rancher, expressed hope that the discovery of these materials could bring them closer to confirming her father's fate. "We trust the Prosecutor's Office, the Joint Task Force (FTC), and the Anti-Terrorism Department that are carrying out this investigation. Since they continue to find evidence from the group, we have hope that we might at least find my father's remains," she said.
Liliana Urbieta also revealed that documents purportedly written by the EML suggest her father died between February 16 and 17, 2017, approximately four months after his abduction in October 2016. She added that the family received information from Lourdes Ramírez indicating that the EML did not receive the message stating that the ransom could not be paid.
This discovery follows the unearthing of another EML hideout in the same area just weeks prior, where various firearms and USB drives were found.
The latest discovery of this EML hideout could prove to be a significant turning point in the long-standing case of Félix Urbieta's kidnapping. Authorities are hopeful that the recovered materials, particularly the laptop, will yield critical information leading to a resolution. The investigation remains ongoing.
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