Status boundary: This file is adjudicated only as to people whose guilt was established in court. It does not identify an intellectual author. Public accusations and theories about political figures or criminal groups are not findings of fact.
A prosecutor confronting organized crime
Pecci was a specialized Paraguayan prosecutor whose work included drug trafficking, money laundering and organized crime. That history made motive an immediate investigative question, but it did not establish who ordered his death.
He traveled to Colombia with his wife for their honeymoon. On May 10, two men approached the beach area of their hotel after arriving from the water. Pecci was shot and the attackers fled. The case crossed borders from the outset: the homicide occurred in Colombia, while the victim, his work and many potential leads were Paraguayan.
The operation on Barú
Colombian prosecutors traced travel, accommodation, vehicles, money movements, telephone records and surveillance. The attackers were supported by people who located Pecci, transported participants and the weapon, supplied money and monitored the plan.
The evidence did not make every defendant interchangeable. Some admitted participation and received reduced sentences; others contested the charges and were convicted after trial. Later proceedings addressed coordinators and financiers beyond the first four convictions.
Rapid arrests and the first convictions
Within weeks, authorities arrested five suspects. On June 17, 2022, a court convicted four operational participants after guilty pleas. Each received 23 years and six months after sentence reductions for the admissions.
Those judgments established how the attack was carried out but did not answer who provided the ultimate order. Investigators continued working up the chain.
Coordination, finance and logistics
In May 2023, Andrés Felipe and Ramón Emilio Pérez Hoyos were sentenced to 25 years and six months after acknowledging their role in financing and arranging the crime. The public case record describes them as engaging Francisco Luis Correa Galeano to organize the operation.
Margareth Lizeth Chacón Zúñiga was convicted after trial for planning and logistical support. The first judgment imposed 39 years and ten months. On appeal, an arms conviction was removed and her sentence was fixed at 35 years. In June 2025, Colombia's Supreme Court declined to admit her cassation petition.
Correa was initially an accused participant, not a convicted one. He later accepted responsibility, and the Fiscalía reported his conviction in May 2024. He was killed in prison in January 2025. That later killing did not erase his adjudicated role in Pecci's assassination.
The unresolved intellectual authorship
The convictions identify people who planned locally, financed, coordinated and executed the attack. They do not establish the ultimate sponsor. Colombian and Paraguayan authorities have repeatedly described that higher level as unfinished work.
Correa made allegations about responsibility beyond the convicted group. Colombia's Fiscalía said such testimony required verification against other evidence. This archive does not repeat those allegations as truth and does not assign the killing to a political figure or criminal organization without a supported judicial finding.
A joint Paraguay–Colombia investigation
In October 2024, Colombia's Fiscalía announced a joint team with Paraguay to pursue intellectual authorship and financial routes. In May 2025, Colombia's attorney general again reported progress and judicial-cooperation agreements.
The joint structure reflects where evidence may lie: execution in Colombia; possible motive, communications or financing across jurisdictions. It addresses a different layer from the already adjudicated operational network.
Timeline
- May 10, 2022: Pecci is assassinated on Barú Island.
- June 2022: Colombian authorities arrest suspects and obtain four guilty-plea convictions.
- May 2023: The Pérez Hoyos brothers are sentenced to 25 years and six months.
- February 2024: Chacón receives a trial sentence; the appellate term is later fixed at 35 years.
- May 2024: Fiscalía reports Correa's conviction.
- October 2024: Colombia and Paraguay form a joint investigative team.
- January 2025: Correa is killed in prison.
- June 2025: Colombia's Supreme Court declines Chacón's cassation petition.
Established facts and limits
- Established: Pecci was shot on Barú Island on May 10, 2022.
- Established by judgments: Multiple participants carried out, financed, coordinated or supported the assassination.
- Official continuing status: Colombia and Paraguay are investigating who ordered it.
- Not established here: Any unconvicted political figure or criminal organization as intellectual author.
Source methodology
The chronology and conviction sequence were checked against Colombia's Fiscalía. Chacón's appellate posture comes from Colombia's Supreme Court. The cross-border status was verified through official joint-team and cooperation announcements. OCCRP and El País supplied independent cross-checks. Sources were reviewed through October 2, 2026.
Frequently asked questions
When was Marcelo Pecci killed?
He was shot on May 10, 2022, on Barú Island near Cartagena while on his honeymoon.
Who has been convicted?
Colombian courts convicted direct attackers and participants who financed, coordinated or supported the operation, including the Pérez Hoyos brothers, Margareth Chacón and Francisco Luis Correa Galeano.
Has the person who ordered it been identified by a final judgment?
No. Authorities continued investigating the intellectual authorship after the operational participants were convicted.
Why is this in the Paraguay archive?
Pecci was a Paraguayan prosecutor targeted in connection with his public work, and Paraguay participates in the joint cross-border investigation.
Are allegations about a sponsor treated as fact?
No. The page separates convictions from unproven claims about political figures or criminal organizations.