Two Cubans arrested for the murder of an Indonesian diplomat in Peru

The National Police of Peru arrested five members of a gang, including two Cuban citizens, for their alleged involvement in the shooting murder of an Indonesian diplomat in Lima the previous week.

The five detainees -three Venezuelans and two Cuban nationals-, alleged members of the criminal gang Los Maleantes del Cono, are believed to be involved in the crime that resulted in the death of the Indonesian embassy official Zetro Leonardo Purba, aged 42, on September 1.

The deadly attack occurred that Monday at 7:05 p.m., when Purba was arriving by bicycle at the building where he lived with his wife and three small children, on César Vallejo Avenue, in the district of Lince, in the Peruvian capital.

Videos published by the press captured the moment when the official rides a bicycle to the entrance of the building, where he is shot and killed by an individual with a firearm, who then escapes on a motorcycle driven by another person.

During a police operation carried out this Tuesday in the district of San Martín de Porres in Lima, agents seized a loaded pistol, five explosives, a motorcycle, and other items directly linked to the crime, as confirmed by the PNP. They also confiscated drugs and 10 cell phones.

The forensic examinations revealed that the Taurus-brand pistol was the weapon used in the murder of the Indonesian diplomat, as stated in a note from the Argentine site Infobae.

According to this report, the police identified the alleged material perpetrator of the gunfire as the Venezuelan citizen Yaiker Antonio Echenagucia Quijada, alias “Malako,” aged 23.

The source also reported that Wilson José Soto López, alias “El Primo” and also from Venezuela, allegedly confessed to his involvement in the murder.

Soto was riding the motorcycle that was used during the execution of the crime, which was recovered in the operation. Surveillance camera footage from the area confirmed that this was the vehicle used in the attack.

Until now, the identity of the Cubans has not been revealed nor the extent of their involvement in the organization and execution of the assassination.

The suspects will remain in preliminary detention for a period of seven days, while the police gather more evidence and assess each person's involvement in the events.

The Peruvian authorities are investigating the case as a "suspected contract killing," reported the news agency AP. The Peruvian Minister of the Interior, Carlos Malaver, stated last Thursday that the attack on Purba was a "qualified homicide in the form of hitman activity."

Malaver confirmed, citing police data, that the victim had no belongings stolen. “They were waiting for him, and the bullet impacts were to the head; they were directly aiming to take his life,” he stated.

The Indonesian diplomat was immediately taken to a nearby clinic, where he was pronounced dead, indicated the local press.

Purba had arrived in Lima just five months ago with his family, and was serving as the organizing chancellor at his country's diplomatic mission in Peru.

Between 2019 and 2022, he served at the Consulate General of Indonesia in Melbourne, Australia, as treasurer and housing planner. Upon completing his work in that country, he returned to the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, and continued to hold positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

According to Peruvian authorities, Los Maleantes del Cono is a criminal organization primarily composed of foreign nationals, operating in the northern region of Lima, and has been linked to extortion and contract killings.

Sources from the National Police of Peru stated that the crime against the Indonesian diplomat may have been commissioned, but the motive and the identities of the masterminds are still unknown.

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