Rosario Judge Allows Convicted Drug Trafficker on House Arrest to Go Shopping

A federal judge in Rosario has authorized Bárbara Yamila Cantero, a convicted drug trafficker and member of the notorious Los Monos clan, to leave her home for shopping excursions. Cantero is currently serving a sentence of house arrest. The controversial decision was made by Judge Otmar Paulucci of the Federal Oral Court No. 1 of Rosario.

Paulucci granted the request, citing the "superior interest of the children involved" and noting that the Unit for the Defense of Children, Girls, and Adolescents did not object. However, the federal prosecutor Tomás Malaponte had explicitly opposed the request on August 3, arguing that Cantero already lives with her children and family, thus fulfilling the requirement of strengthening family ties.

Cantero, daughter of Los Monos founder Ariel "El Viejo" Cantero and sister to current leader Ariel Máximo "Guille" Cantero, was convicted of drug trafficking. Investigations revealed she managed drug sales points in Rosario under her father's direction while he was imprisoned. Her family's name is synonymous with decades of violence and control over illegal economies in the city.

While her brothers are imprisoned, Bárbara Cantero operated on the streets for years. She was arrested in August 2022 during an operation that dismantled a drug trafficking network directed from prison. The prosecution alleged she managed and collected profits from drug sales points authorized by her father.

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