Overview
- Prosecutors formally asked the court Friday for a 35-year prison term for Érick Moreno Hernández, alias 'El Monstruo', on charges of kidnapping and extortion.
- The Fiscalía says Moreno coordinated ransom calls demanding up to US$300,000 and helped produce 'survival' videos used to pressure the families of two kidnapped businessmen.
- The abduction took place in March 2020 and ended after a police rescue operation on March 15, 2020 in which PNP technician William Ríos Cauti was gravely wounded and died days later.
- Moreno has participated in hearings from the high-security Naval Base prison, his defense rejects the evidence and blames another accused gang member known as 'Orejas', and observers reported he covered his face during recent arguments.
- Judges will hear Moreno's autodefense on June 22 and issue a public sentence on June 24, a decision that could cap a major prosecution linked to Los Injertos after five co-defendants were convicted and two suspects remain at large.