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Prosecutors seek 14 years for Argentine ruralist accused of organizing drug flights
🇦🇷 Argentina /Crime & Justice

Prosecutors seek 14 years for Argentine ruralist accused of organizing drug flights

From La Nación · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources In the courts
  • Prosecutors requested a 14-year prison sentence for agricultural producer Leonardo Roberto Airaldi, accused of organizing and financing drug trafficking flights.
  • Investigators allege Airaldi used his properties, including a clandestine airstrip, to receive cocaine shipments via small aircraft for distribution by boat.
  • Airaldi also faces accusations of plotting to assassinate the prosecutor and a federal judge involved in his case.

In Paraná, Argentina, prosecutors are seeking a 14-year prison sentence for Leonardo Roberto Airaldi, a prominent local agricultural producer and former president of the Rural Society of Diamante. Airaldi is accused of orchestrating and funding illicit drug trafficking operations between June 2019 and March 2024, utilizing his rural properties in Entre Ríos province. These properties reportedly featured a clandestine airstrip used for the arrival of cocaine-laden planes and the subsequent distribution of drugs via boats.

The prosecution, led by Prosecutor General José Ignacio Candioti, presented evidence detailing Airaldi's alleged role in these operations. Beyond the drug trafficking charges, Airaldi faces a more serious accusation: plotting to assassinate Prosecutor General Candioti and federal judge Leandro Ríos. Investigators believe Airaldi intended to hire Uruguayan hitmen to carry out the executions during a planned vacation in Punta del Este. This alleged plot, however, was reportedly foiled by an informant within the prison system and the fact that the judicial officials never planned such a trip.

The Public Prosecutor's Office requested that the agricultural producer and former president of the Rural Society of Diamante, Leonardo Roberto Airaldi, be sentenced to 14 years in prison, accused of having organized and financed illicit trafficking of narcotics between June 2019 and March 2024 in the cities of Paraná and Diamante, in the province of Entre Ríos.

— Ministry of Public Prosecutor's OfficeOfficial statement detailing the charges and the requested sentence against Airaldi.

Airaldi, referred to as the "gaucho narco," was reportedly moved to a high-security unit in Ezeiza prison following the discovery of the assassination plot. The case highlights the intersection of powerful agricultural figures with organized crime and the significant risks faced by those involved in prosecuting such cases.

The objective was to kill Ríos and Candioti and avoid the oral trial.

— Source close to the investigationExplaining the motive behind the alleged assassination plot against the prosecutor and judge.
DistantNews Editorial

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

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