He September 14, 1990 Martha Pelloni topped the first “March of Silence” through the streets of Catamarca. There were 66 in total. Maria Soledad Moralesa teenager of 17 years who was in the fifth year and wanted to be a kindergarten teacher, had been found murdered near the Villa Parque Chacabuco sports complex. She had been sexually subdued and beaten so violently that her jaw was shattered and her skull was virtually crushed.
The first official version pointed to her boyfriendLuis Tula. And she was not that far from reality, just that Tula was not the only one responsible as the Catamarcan political power tried to quickly install to close the circle and cover the real murderer: Guillermo Luquethe son of national deputy Angel Luque. The crime of Maria Soledad caused the fall of the government of Ramón Saadi and the intervention of the province.
That nun, who became a symbol of the fight against impunity of the ruling regime, would reappear years later in the face of another femicide with the same edging as the Soledad Case: the horrifying murder of Paulina Lebbosa 22 year old student from Tucumán who was in the third year of Social Communication.
Case of Cecilia Strzyzowski: massive march while Capitanich said he was the victim of “insults and slander”
Paulina had disappeared on February 26, 2006 after going dancing with friends (it’s amazing how history always repeats itself). Like María Soledad, Paulina went to a bowling alley in San Miguel to celebrate the end of a subject. Some “sons of power” from Tucuman would have been at that party. Thirteen days later she would appear murdered on the side of provincial route 341. The body was unrecognizable: presented stab wounds, scalp holes and cigarette burns.
Alberto Lebboshis father, pointed from the outset against Daniel and Gabriel Alperovichthe children of the former governor of Tucumán and historic Peronist leader, and Sergio Kaleñuk, son of Alberto, former secretary of the provincial president. However, he never managed to put them in jail and over time the accusations were diluted with judicial delays and really suspicious situations.
Lebbos denounced an endless number of irregularities from minute zero: the crime scene had been tampered with (confirmed by the expert who took the first photographs of Paulina’s body and testified in one of the three trials), they destroyed genetic evidence, the samples taken on the spot were poorly preserved, they threatened the baqueanos who found the body and even the trades they were faked.
The chain of cover-up was colossal. Carlos Albacathe second prosecutor to have the case, ended sentenced to six years in prison. He did not follow the leads that pointed to political power, he let key expertise rot and others he did not directly order; Evidence was lost, and a lot of time.
“When I was making the complaint about the disappearance of Paulina, the deputy chief of police was talking with the secretary Kaleñuk about that situation. All these maneuvers started from the first day and were perfected over time. when prominent actors appeared, such as the former governor Alperovich or the prosecutor Noguera”, reminds Lebbos to PROFILE.
A toxic relationship, disappearance and possible femicide: the 10 keys to the Cecilia Strzyzowski case
As in Catamarca with María Soledad Morales or in Tucumán with Paulina Lebbos, The disappearance of Cecilia Strzyzowski (28) once again strongly challenges political power. In this case with the figure of the most powerful and influential man in the province: Jorge Capitanichcurrent governor of Chaco.
Emerenciano Sena (58)main piquetero leader of the province and candidate for provincial deputy, and his wife Marcela Veronica Acuna (51), pre-candidate for Mayor of Resistencia for the Chaco Front, are detained for their alleged connection to the disappearance of her daughter-in-law, who was last seen alive on June 1. Also César (19)one of his children, and partner of the victim.
The main hypothesis that researchers handle is that Cecilia was murdered in the house of her husband’s parents. The evidence they have is compelling: A security camera would have recorded the woman’s entry, but not her exit. Two hours later, César would appear on the scene with several black bags that he later loaded into a van. Gloria RomeroCecilia’s mother, has already lost hope of finding her alive: “It’s late, my daughter is dead”, recognized in the last hours.
Lebbos, who has been seeking Justice for his daughter for more than 17 years, assures that the woman will have a tough battle ahead. “I tell you to prepare with great strength for a very long fight. And I ask all the people of Chaco and the whole country to help her. There are no words to describe the effort you are going to have to make, ”she warns.
Paulina’s father acknowledges that his daughter’s case has many points in common with Cecilia’s. “I don’t see some coincidences, I see a lot of coincidences. These situations of criminals who disguise themselves as public officials, politicians, commit the most heinous crimes because they feel powerful, they feel unpunished, and they believe they can do whatever they want. They kill more with pens than with guns. They censor, cover up, and hide what is happening because they know that this invisibility leads to impunity,” he told PROFILE.
Who is Emerenciano Sena, the person arrested for the disappearance of Cecilia Strzyzowksi
“The Warlord of the North”
Emerenciano is the head of the Movement of Unemployed Workers (MTD)a social organization that was born at the end of the 1990s. In 1998, during the protests over the floods that affected several neighborhoods in Resistencia and Barranqueras, the MTD built a precarious house in front of the Chaco Government House. They called her the “dignity ranch”. It sought to make visible the precarious living conditions of the unemployed.
Sena began to gain prominence as complaints and roadblocks grew during the 2001 crisis. Over time, it added social plans, subsidies and credits for its affiliates.becoming the main representative of the most needy.
Cecilia Strzyzowski case: the defense lawyer resigned due to “irreconcilable differences” with the Sena family
Like all social leaders, he began to forge alliances and make agreements with the power of the day. He became a bishop for “Coqui” Capitanich, whom chose as best man at his wedding, on December 7, 2012, and also entrusted him with the prologue of his biographical book “Emerenciano, the Warlord of the North”, in which the governor defined it as “the only Catholic Marxist he knows.”
In the past decade, Sena was also close to Domingo Peppo, Governor of Chaco between 2015 and 2019 and current ambassador of Argentina in Paraguay. The one he did not establish a good relationship with was the lieutenant governor Juan Carlos Bacileff Ivanoffwho replaced Capitanich when he was appointed chief of staff of the Nation, from November 2013 to February 2015.
Bacileff Ivanoff called him a “professional squeezer” and a “humble swindler.” “They are mercenaries who drive 4×4 trucks and have million-dollar houses,” he said, clearly referring to Sena. The MTD leader responded harshly: compared him to the dictator Jorge Videla and even to Adolf Hitler, and requested federal intervention in the province.
Patrimony
According to forecast records, both Sena and his wife are listed as employees of the Madres Plaza de Mayo Foundation and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology of Chaco, from the year 2013 to 2023.
in the house on the street Santa María de Oro at 1400where it is suspected that Cecilia may have been murdered, the investigators found more than 6 million pesos and automatically the Federal Prosecutor of Resistance, in charge of Patricio Sabadini, initiated a case for the crimes of evasion and money laundering. Until now no one knows the origin of that money.
The three main targets – in addition to César and his parents there are four more detainees – are accused of the crime of “aggravated homicide by the premeditated concurrence of two or more people”. None agreed to testify, and this morning César’s lawyer announced his resignation from the defense due to “irreconcilable differences.”
Cecilia Strzyzoswki case: the audios that Emerenciano Sena and Marcela Acuña sent from the police station to their militants
“Evidence elements were incorporated that prevent me from continuing to effectively defend my clients,” explained Jose Diazwho also assisted two other defendants, Fabiana González and Gustavo Obregonclose to Seine. “They are compelling evidence that do not result from the witness statement, but from two raids, they are all very objective,” expanded the lawyer.
Since they began to be questioned, Sena and Acuña they evaded Cecilia’s family, installed false versions and even raised a political hypothesis. The mother of the main defendant assured that her daughter-in-law was alive, a possibility that at this time sounds far-fetched. She seemed more aware of the elections on Sunday, June 18. Perhaps, did she feel unpunished herself?
LN / ds