Salta: commotion over the video between a drug trafficker and a man linked to politics who was murdered

The transfer of the drug lord Cristian Gabriel Palavecino from Jump to the Federal Penitentiary Complex I of Ezeiza, maximum security, made visible the murder of Darío Monges, in 2022, a false lawyer who before the crime maintained a dialogue with the alleged head of the criminal organization, who at that time was a fugitive from Justice, in which he involved important politicians from that province with whom he claimed to have contacts to “open routes.” “I know who you are and I’m not going to come sell fruit to you, and even less am I going to come talk to someone your size, your class. You are a powerful person and putting my skin at risk, what’s the point? “What’s the point of wasting my time and putting my life at risk?” Monges tells him shortly after the conversation begins.Arla.

The video became public in the last few hours, within the framework of the trial for the death of Monges, whose body was found on September 3, 2022, with five shots to the head, inside a truck he owned, in the neighborhood. El Círculo, in the capital of Salta. In the trial, the evidence and testimonies are evaluated, which is why Roberto Catalino Bejarano and his sons, Santiago and Roberto, who are accused of being responsible for the crime, are detained. The Federal Oral Court is made up of judges Martha Snopek, Federico Diaz and Mario Juárez Almaraz. The video was extracted by a Gendarmerie expert from a Palavecino phone, in the context of another case, but when the images of the encounter appeared, it was contributed to this trial.

The video of Palavecino and Darío Monges

The scene of the dialogue between the two – Palavecino was captured in 2023 after remaining a fugitive for six years – took place in a scenario of deep symbolism about the power that the drug boss knew how to wield. It took place in one of his properties, surrounded by armed men and with his face covered. Before the talk, Monges was searched to prevent him from carrying any weapons, while the guards address the drug trafficker as “boss”, who all the time refers to you to his interlocutor.

“I know who you are and I’m not going to come to you to sell fruit, much less am I going to come and talk to someone your size, your class. Do you understand me? You are a powerful person and putting my skin at risk, what’s the point?” “What’s the point in wasting my time and putting my life at risk?” Monges tells Palavecino at the beginning. Afterwards, the talk goes on about the contacts that the first would have to facilitate “routes” for the transfer of drugs, supposedly. Mentions, among them, Pablo Outescurrent national deputy from Salta; to Abel Cornejoformer attorney of that province, former judge of the Supreme Court of the province and former Minister of Security, and also quotes Daniel Moreno, mayor of the municipality of Vaqueros. Ámbito accessed an extract from the registry.

Before the meeting, Monges – who, according to some testimonies, participated in electoral campaigns on the side of the ruling party – entered the prison in the city of Oran to visit Oscar “Cabezón” Alberto Alejandro Díaza hitman close to Palavecino, pretending to be a lawyer. For this fact, the former Secretary of Security of the province, Benjamín Cruz, is accused of the alleged crime of influence peddling.

The Oran Prosecutor’s Unit considered the testimonies that emerged in the hearings for the Monges crime to be relevant. It was considered that Cruz, a Government House official at that time, would have facilitated the victim’s entry into prison, claiming to be an advisor to the Ministry of Security. Two months later, he was found dead in his truck.

The link between Monges and Cruz was confirmed in recent days by the testimony of the former’s father. Arnaldo Valentín Monges reported that his son often traveled to Oran at the request of the former official and that Cruz “He called him constantly and drove it the way he wanted.” He said that he accompanied his son to Oran twice because he couldn’t drive because he was too tired to drive his truck. On both occasions, he said, he limited himself to waiting for him at a service station. and that when he asked him who he had to see, he only responded that “they were dangerous people.”

That same day of his statement, Monges (father) maintained that the Bejaranos are responsible for the murder of his son but that they act under the protection of powerful people who have not yet been identified. “I have five children, rather, I had five, because they killed one of me,” expressed before the judges of the Federal Oral Court. And he called them “cowards” because, being friends of his son, they treacherously killed him in exchange for money. The public status of the video generated a great impact in the world of Salta politics and it is expected that there will be more news, since of the 130 witnesses who should testify in the case, it is estimated that there are only around 30.

“The Gringo”

Cristian Gabriel Palavecinoalias “El Gringo”, He was a fugitive from 2017 until he was arrested in October 2023 after a million-dollar robbery from the Abra del Sol fruit and vegetable company. occurred on December 16, 2022. In assault, commando style, sand took US$160,000 and $13 million. Already at that time, Palavecino was a fugitive, with a national and international arrest warrant for murder and attempted murder.

Last week, ““El Gringo” was transferred to the Federal Penitentiary Complex I of Ezeiza, in Buenos Aires, by air. It was reported that it was due to strict security reasons due to the degree of danger of the defendant and his links with criminal organizations. Palavecino was housed in Prison Unit 1 of the Villa Las Rosas Prison, in the capital of Salta, a medium-security prison unit that does not have a pavilion to house “High Profile” inmates.

High Risk Operations Groups from the Salta Police, the Provincial Penitentiary Service, Federal Police agents and the Airport Security Police participated in the transfer with the supervision of authorities from the Undersecretary of Criminal Policies, in coordination with the Ministry of Security of the Nation.