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Prosecutor seeks trial for lawyer accused of threatening journalist
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Crime & Justice

Prosecutor seeks trial for lawyer accused of threatening journalist

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources In the courts
  • A prosecutor has requested a trial for a lawyer accused of directing threats against a journalist via social media.
  • The threats are reportedly linked to the journalist's publications about a "pay-stub mafia."
  • The lawyer and another woman are accused of coercion and threats, with evidence including phone chats.

Prosecutor Ruth Benítez has formally accused lawyer Zully Ortiz and her friend Evelin Paredes, requesting a public trial for their alleged involvement in directing threats against journalist Carlos Benítez through social media posts. The threats are reportedly connected to Benítez's investigative articles concerning a "pay-stub mafia."

Ortiz, 47, and Paredes, 40, are charged as principal and co-author, respectively, for the crimes of coercion and threats of punishable acts. According to the prosecution, the two women allegedly coordinated their actions to intimidate journalist Carlos Benítez, who directs the news outlet "El Observador." The purpose of these threats was to instill fear and hinder his journalistic work, specifically preventing further publications related to the "pay-stub mafia" case, in which Ortiz is already a defendant.

The two women allegedly coordinated their actions to threaten journalist Carlos Benítez.

— Prosecutor Ruth BenítezDescribing the alleged conspiracy between the accused.

The specialized unit for computer crimes and money laundering prosecutor presented her case to criminal guarantee court No. 8, presided over by Judge José Agustín Delmás Aguiar. The investigation gathered sufficient evidence, including extracted conversations from the defendants' seized mobile phones, to support the accusation of coordinated action between Ortiz and Paredes. These chats, conducted via WhatsApp, allegedly reveal the planning of the threats.

Journalist Carlos Benítez first reported the incidents to the National Police's Directorate Against Economic and Financial Crimes, Cybercrime Investigation Department, on September 23, 2025. His reporting on the "pay-stub mafia" had been ongoing since October 2024. The prosecution believes the evidence demonstrates that the accused women aimed to generate fear and intimidate the journalist, thereby conditioning the free exercise of his reporting activities.

The purpose of the threats was to generate fear and intimidate the journalist, thereby conditioning the free exercise of his reporting activities.

— Prosecutor Ruth BenítezExplaining the alleged motive behind the threats.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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