Man investigated for four murders, survivor of three attacks, arrested in Uruguay

Police in Uruguay have arrested Kevin Morotto Vernier, a 27-year-old man implicated in four recent homicides and who has survived three previous assassination attempts. The detention occurred after a significant police operation involving approximately 150 officers and 15 raids in the Santa Catalina neighborhood of Montevideo.

Morotto's name had previously surfaced due to his survival of multiple violent attacks, including one just over a week prior to his arrest outside the Maciel Hospital. Authorities believe the attempts on his life and the murders he is investigated for stem from a conflict between criminal gangs operating in Santa Catalina.

Working with the 2nd Homicide Prosecutor's Office, police gathered evidence they consider "conclusive" of Morotto's involvement in the murder of a 41-year-old man on August 3 in the Maracaná neighborhood. He is also linked to a double homicide of two 33-year-old men on July 18 in the Independencia neighborhood, and the murder of a 19-year-old near an INISA home in the Atahualpa neighborhood on July 28.

Morotto has a criminal record including robbery, aggravated theft, illegal firearm possession, and receiving stolen goods. His first assassination attempt occurred in September of the previous year as he was leaving the Santiago Vázquez prison. The "Nimrod" operation also led to the arrest of six other individuals, including three men found with a pistol and narcotics, and a woman detained for possessing three modified handguns. A stolen high-cylinder motorcycle and several cell phones were also seized.