Caracas – Venezuelan authorities reported Monday that four Colombians, two men and two women, were arrested for their presumed involvement in the kidnapping and murder of the daughter of a high-ranking military officer in this country.
Interior and Justice Minister Jesse Chacon said that investigations indicate the incident to be a contract killing in which drug traffickers might be involved.
Chacon said in a press conference that those in custody are the Colombians Luis Fernando Mayor, Juan Esteban Gomez, Claudia Andrea Marin and Melanie Joana Mujica.
Venezuelan police “presume” that another two Colombians supposedly involved in the case are currently in Colombia, the minister said, adding that the collaboration of Colombian authorities has been requested.
The body of Carolina Di Lucca, 23, daughter of the officer in charge of the Regional Command of southeastern Bolivar state, Col. Roberto de Luca, was found last Sunday buried in a remote area of that Venezelan region.
The young woman, kidnapped May 26 on a highway in Bolivar state, died from being shot in the head 10 or 11 days before her body was found, according to police reports cited in the local press.
“From the moment they captured Carolina they had already planned her death,” Chacon said, adding that “vengeance related to drug trafficking” is the hypothesis that ongoing investigations have made appear most likely.
The supposed mastermind behind Di Lucca’s slaying, according to authorities, is the Venezuelan Jose Alejandro Lopez Alvarez, alias “The Big Banana,” sought for his involvement in crimes related to the drug trade, Chacon said.
Rafael Lopez Alvarez, brother of Jose Alejandro Lopez Alvarez, was married to the young victim, the minister said, for which reason authorities are investigating to discover whether the motive of the vengeance was linked to the drug trade in Bolivar state, or if it had something to do with the family-romantic tie. EFE
