The ghosts of a dark past devastated Argentina anew.On January 25,1997, news photographer José Luis Cabezas was murdered at Pinamar, the country’s most exclusive beach resort. He was a photographer for Noticias, Argentina’s leading news magazine. Cabezas and I were covering the summer season at those beaches on the Atlantic Ocean enjoyed by politicians, businessmen, actors, sports figures and other high-profile celebrities.

Cabezas was kidnapped as he left a birthday party thrown for Oscar Andreani, a telephone company executive. The photographer was beaten, handcuffed, tortured And driven to a cave in open country some seven miles from Pinamar.

He was Executed with two shots to the head. His body was burned in the vehicle rented by Noticias for us to use on this assignment. Through dumb luck, a few minutes earlier I had left the party where I was with José Luis for the last time. My life was spared by a miracle.

The facts of the crime led right away to the conclusion that this was some sort of message from the Mafia. The judicial file on the case fills 228 volumes (more than 50,000 pages); 10 people are being held in custody and the oral trial is expected to begin perhaps in late 1999.It is hoped that some of the case ’s lingering doubts and questions will be cleared up then, such as the motive for the crime, the involvement of others, the trail of the murder weapon and a possible police cover-up.


The Crime and Argentine Society

The murder happened just as the press in Argentina enjoyed the best public image among the country ’s institutions. The media ranked high in credibility among the people, who saw the press as a watchdog. Independent journalism was emerging – as it continues to do –as the ultimate antidote against an illness that has punished all of society: structural corruption.

Through its investigations, Noticias magazine exposed some of the patterns of structural corruption holding sway in Argentina. Other independent media did as well, so becoming a counterweight to misuse of power. Perhaps this development, as well as the sinister nature of the crime itself, triggered the public to mobilize the way it did. Thousands took part in marches, caravans of vehicles and trains, public rallies, all sorts of homages, photo expositions. All this in memory of Cabezas and, above all, as a demand for justice. Expressions of solidarity multiplied across the country and even abroad.

Indignation mounted to such a degree that Cabezas’ murder marked a dividing line between two countries: One in which impunity led to crimes to cover up crimes, without a shred of justice; another that would emerge as the public actively demanded justice because it understood that everybody ’s freedom was being slaughtered. That’s why the public rallied behind the symbolic slogan, "Don’t forget Cabezas." This rallying cry fueled the battle in a country eager to banish an absence of memory, which is impunity’s chief accomplice.

Talk then started to focus on the before and after of the Cabezas crime. Everybody joined in. The news media assigned teams to follow leads for months and turned the issue into a core item on the national agenda. Many journalists, despite more than 150 instances of aggression or intimidation after the murder, still wear black insignias in their lapels as a sign of mourning and saying "No" to forgetting about it. And the public in general, fed up with crimes being committed with impunity, has kept on clamoring for justice.

All this forced the authorities to seek the truth rather than follow the furtive shortcuts aimed at shielding those really responsible for the crime. Even now, two and half years after the murder, 25 commemorative rallies are staged every day in some part or another of the country to keep the memory alive.



The Investigation

During the early stages of the Cabezas’ murder investigation, the authorities cranked up a traditional police repressive trick widely used during the bloody military dictatorship that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983. The sinister maneuver was aimed at casting suspicion on the victim. Unable to provide truthful answers, the authorities made spurious aspersions about Cabezas. In due course, those attempts were rebuffed under the weight of the evidence, but at times we felt that the maneuver amounted to a second assassination of our colleague. We would protest the authorities’ manipulation of the facts, but our objections went unheeded.



José Luis Cabezas shares a private moment with one of his children.
A gang of five brothel operators in the resort city of Mar del Plata were detained less than a month after the murder. They had the weapon allegedly used in the crime in their possession. The same day of the arrests, Interior Minister Carlos Corach and Alberto Kohan, the president’s chief of staff, traveled to Dolores, the city where the judicial investigation was underway.

There they announced –with bells and whistles –that the murder weapon had been found and that the crime was practically solved, despite the fact that no lab work had been done yet. The Mar del Plata brothel operators, known as Los Pepitos, had been fingered by a shadowy police informant (Carlos Redruello). The informant himself was eventually arrested and implicated in the crime. The public did not swallow this phony story served up by official flunkies. Instead, it was felt that Scapegoats were being used to cover up the real perpetrators. There’s good reason to believe that these suspicions were well justified.

A month and half later, a Buenos Aires province police officer, Gustavo Prellezo, and four petty thieves were detained. Dubbed "los horneros" because they came from an area known as Los Hornos, the crooks were identified as Horacio Braga, Sergio Gustavo González, José Luis Auge and Miguel Retana. Retana reportedly had broken down and confessed his role in the crime to a businessman. By means of this intermediary, the news had reached Eduardo Duhalde, governor of the Province. As the official story goes, Duhalde convinced the young thief to testify for the prosecution.

Confessions

The other three also confessed later, but defended their actions by alleging that the police officer Prellezo had contracted them to put pressure on someone (with threats of violence) but not to kill him. The "horneros" held firm in their contention that it was Prellezo who shot Cabezas. Nevertheless, the impact of the gunshots on Cabezas suggests that one of the thieves –Braga –may also have fired at him.

Prellezo was a Buenos Aires province police inspector serving as deputy chief at Pinamar. Shortly before the murder, he was transferred to another resort, but kept close ties with the local police. Somewhat later, two other area cops –Sergio Cammarata and Anibal Luna –also were detained. They allegedly had done the "intelligence" work prior to the killing. The noose tightened as well on Prellezo’s wife, Silvia Belawsky, also a police officer. It was learned that she had requested Background information about Cabezas just a month and a half before the crime.

Two Connecting Lines

As these facts emerged, two distinct lines of investigation took shape. One focused on the Buenos Aires provincial police (known as the Buenos Aires police); the other on one of the country’s most prominent –and mysterious –businessmen, Alfredo Yabrán. A combination of the two was also a possibility.

The theory that placed the Buenos Aires police force at the core of the suspicions had to do with an investigative article published several months before by Noticias, under the headline "Damned Police." The article was written by late journalist Carlos Dutil and an investigative team of seven which included me. It exposed the people and the methods they used, showing it to be the most corrupt and violent law enforcement agency in the country, engaging in prostitution, drug trafficking, clandestine gambling, "quick trigger" crimes, involvement in anti-Semitic criminal assaults, and illegal enrichment, among other things.

A probing look at those activities was the focus of the Noticias article, which was featured on the cover with a photograph, shot by Cabezas, of Commissioner Pedro Klodzyck, the head of the force at the time. The Noticias story triggered a sudden internal restructuring in which the heads of several suspected high officials rolled. Shortly thereafter, the top man was also forced to resign.

The theory that focused on businessman Yabrán had plenty of substance. Who was Yabrán? To begin with, it must be admitted that he’s an enigmatic tycoon whose face was unknown and who bragged that not even the intelligence services had a photo of him. He once said during an interview with Noticias several years before the Cabezas murder that "to take a picture of me is like shooting me in the head."

The fact is that, after a search in Pinamar that took several days, José Luis and I found him. By managing to take his photo, José Luis put a face on one of Argentina’s most intriguing enigmas. Even Domingo Cavallo, the former finance minister, had fingered Yabrán as a "Mafia boss." Cavallo called it a Mafia that was "embedded in the power structure " and had amassed –thanks to "dirty deals"– a fortune "of more than $4 billion in 20 years." Yabrán only acknowledged a net worth of $400 million.

The fact is that the Yabrán empire –which encompassed postal services, airlines, customs warehouses, duty free shops, printers of documents and voting forms, armored truck services, real estate and companies dealing in travel, security and cargo, among others –amassed great power by dealing with the government, in situations where the latter often did not benefit. There were those who labeled the Yabrán empire a "state within the state," particularly because his businesses had a direct involvement in the strategic handling of sensitive areas.



Complaints were also voiced at the unorthodox and violent methods used to eliminate Yabrán’s competitors. When his name gained prominence, the media tried to find out more about the enigmatic businessman. Several journalists were attacked and/or threatened for their efforts. Those who dared penetrate the walls of silence shielding the Yabrán mystery were often greeted by gunfire, assault and all sorts of intimidation.

Photo on a Cover

The photo of the mogul walking placidly along a Pinamar beach with his wife was taken on February 16,1996. Yabrán had vacationed at that beach for many years and also had substantial investments there. The photograph, shot by Cabezas, had wide repercussions and appeared on the cover of


Argentine news photographers rallied in demand for their collegue's killer to be brought to justice.
Noticias March 3,1996, edition under the headline, "Yabrán Attacks Again." The story inside detailed the mystery man’s strategy to defend himself before the government and the U.S.business community against Cavallo’s accusations. The article also revealed some of his latest deals in Pinamar.

In 1997, José Luis and I continued our investigation in Pinamar into Yabrán’s business dealings. We discovered the ramifications of a plan to build a sports marina at the resort –a project of doubtful purpose and profitability. Our top priority that season was to land an interview with the aloof businessman. During our research we had several experiences that were at least suspicious. One source told Cabezas that Yabrán’s people were trying to find out his address in Buenos Aires; people close to Yabrán commented about Cabezas’ baby; both Cabezas and I had the tires of our Automobiles slashed while we mounted a journalistic stakeout at the beach where Yabrán had parked; one of his guards –among other things –forced me to move away from outside a restaurant where a birthday party was being held for Yabrán’s wife. The murder of José Luis came a few days later.

As misgivings grew about Yabrán and his entourage, so did complaints about his personal security guard, which supposedly was composed of former agents and torturers linked to the military dictatorship. Still and all, many government people, and even President Carlos Menem,insisted on trying to discount doubts about the businessman, even when very compromising evidence began to surface. Just as those links between Prellezo and Yabrán came to light, the administration chose to

receive Yabrán at Government House –in spite of public protests outside against the meeting.Menem commented at one point that "they attack Yabrán because they want to attack the government."

Dangerous Intersections

The Excalibur computer program used in the judicial investigation to check the suspects ’phone calls produced a significant disclosure.Calls made by policeman Prellezo were checked in this way af ter he was arrested.To the astonishment of many,a great number of calls were logged between him and Yabrán ’s security chief, a former army sergeant named Gregorio Ríos.Ríos is under arrest as the presumed instigator of the crime,although there are suspicions that it was not he who had given the original order.The calls between Prellezo and Ríos multiplied during the days just before the murder and stopped abruptly right af ter January 25,1997.

It was also proved that Prellezo –a low-ranking officer –had had personal contact with Yabrán.Prellezo had received a business card directly from the tycoon and had met with him.That meeting, both later acknowledged, took place at Yabran’s office a month before Cabezas was killed.The investigation turned up other testimony that complicated Yabrán ’s situation and his security chief’s (one witness testified that he saw Ríos and Prellezo together shortly after the murder). That’s why the Yabrán defense team applied a strategy designed to knock down the most damaging testimony by attacking those witnesses. It also tried to sue witnesses left and right, including me.

Nevertheless, the evidence mounted and finally, as the public suspicions about Yabrán became widespread, Prellezo’s wife "broke." She said her husband –the alleged murderer of Cabezas –had confessed to her that Yabrán was behind the crime. Judge José Luis Macchi ordered Yabrán’s arrest on May 15,1998. Yabrán fled and the judge issued an international arrest warrant.



Five days later –on May 20,1998 –a police squad went to San Ignacio, Yabrán’s hacienda in the province of Entre Ríos, and found his body. He appeared to have been killed by a self-inflicted shotgun blast to the mouth. Still, there remains a good deal of doubt about this alleged suicide, despite the forensic evidence. Most people (the latest polls show about 70 percent) do not believe that Yabrán is dead. The rest are divided between those who believe he did kill himself and those who think he was killed to cover up an even bigger fish than he. A popular notion has Yabrán enjoying himself on some Caribbean beach or in Syria –homeland of his ancestors – after undergoing plastic surgery to alter his features.


Is Yabrán There?

The most macabre aspect of this suspicion


Following the murder, José Luis Cabezas' body was dumped in his car and set ablaze.
holds that Yabrán’s tomb in fact contains the body of somebody especially killed for that purpose. The doubts also encompass a presumed complicity that involves judges, technicians, police, relatives and politicians, all of whom conspired –so the thinking goes –to close this chapter.

It is true that many shadows hang over the investigation of this alleged suicide. Among them is the disappearance of a cellular phone that may have revealed the last contacts of the person considered the prime suspect of having masterminded the Cabezas murder. Moreover, the mysterious nature of the man helped feed the public doubts and distrust.Further nourishing the many uncertainties are the close

ties that Yabrán had at the highest levels of Argentine political and government circles. These ties were bared through the Excalibur research into his phone logs. The disclosures cost then Justice Minister Elías Jassán his job. Jassán had denied knowing Yabrán, but it was later disclosed that he had made more calls to Yabrán than to his own wife.

Following Yabrán’s disappearance, Prellezo declared that at his meeting with Yabrán a month before the murder, the businessman had said he wanted that summer of 1997 to be quiet, without the hassle of photographers and journalists. This was key information for the court, which had already established that Prellezo had an existing working arrangement with Yabrán, having done jobs for him in the past.

Free Zone

This was not the only link found between Yabrán and the local police. He had contacts with other members of the Pinamar police force. The entire force, and particularly the former chief, Alberto Pedro Gómez, was compromised by the Cabezas slaying.The investigation turned up evidence that as the day of the crime dawned a "no-go area "had been established.

"No-go areas "go back to the time of the military dictatorship. When paramilitary groups went to kidnap alleged opponents of the regime, the police were instructed not to interfere should they receive an emergency call from the area where the operation was going down. The police did follow those instructions,when they did not actively participate in the operation itself. Many of those commando assaults led to the disappearance of thousands of people and detention at the government’s clandestine terror centers.

Strong suspicions remain that a "no-go area "was set up at the time of the Cabezas murder. That’s why the police did not respond to a phone call from a neighbor of the party house where the photographer was last seen. The neighbor had called the local police station to report suspicious characters in the area.

Despite the evidence of contacts between Yabrán’s security and the local police before and after the crime, the matter was not thoroughly investigated. There are a number of suspects who continue to pollute the streets, enjoying a freedom that’s very dangerous.

The Search for Justice

The murder of José Luis Cabezas thus became a tussle between a corrupt and murderous country worthy of eternal banishment and another in which justice can prevail as more than just a pretty word.Cabezas ’family deserves that and much more. His children must know who killed their father and why. They must know who wanted to cover up the crime and why. The public realized that this killing was against everybody and that’s why it made a symbol of Cabezas.

If the commitment to seek the truth remains firm, then this crime will be the last. If, unfortunately, the commitment falters, then the crime will be the first of many. The dream is simple: That one day those of us who carry on his legacy may be able to take the pictures of his imprisoned murderers. It would be a photo of justice. A photo of truth. And most definitely, a photo of a free press.