The World Today
The murder of former judge Luis Delfino shocked Uruguay with its brutality and the details revealing a plot of treason and money.
The 63-year-old former judge was found burned to death inside his own car in a vacant lot in Montevideo, after leaving his home in the Buceo neighborhood to go to a pizzeria in the Cruz de Carrasco .
According to police sources, Delfino had met with the owner of the establishment, to whom he had previously lent money. What was supposed to be a meeting to settle a debt ended in a tragedy that left the country in shock.
The last hours of the former judge
According to the judicial investigation, Delfino was intercepted on Saturday night, between 10:00 p.m. and 1:00 a.m., by a 17-year-old boy and at least two adults. The young man, armed, threatened him and forced him into a vehicle. He was then taken to a place known as "the ranch ," where he was blindfolded so he wouldn't identify the pizzeria owner.
There, the former judge was beaten and pressured to reveal the passwords to his bank accounts and the cards that had been stolen minutes earlier. He was subsequently suffocated and shot in the head.
The crime and the cover-up
The murder of former judge Luis Delfino occurred on August 10, and those involved attempted to erase the evidence by burning the car with the body inside. However, traces of the crime soon appeared: the former judge's credit cards were used to buy cigarettes, whiskey, and even a hamburger, expenses that were recorded in bank statements.
One of the elements that linked the teenager to the crime was an Instagram post. In it, the young man posed with the gun stolen from Delfino, next to a hamburger that, according to police, had been purchased with the victim's card.
The Juvenile Court sentenced the minor to seven and a half years of confinement for being a co-conspirator in the homicide. The owner of the establishment and two other people remain charged while the investigation continues .
A judicial past and a tragic end
Luis Delfino joined the judiciary in 1993 as a justice of the peace in Canelones and was later transferred to Pando and Cerro Largo . However, in 2000, he was dismissed for "multiple irregularities" in his performance, according to a ruling by the Supreme Court of Justice .
Despite having retired from the judicial system, he led a peaceful life, seemingly free of conflict, according to his family's testimony. His violent death not only reopened old institutional wounds but also highlighted the vulnerability of victims to violent crime in the country.
Reflection on violence and justice
The murder of former judge Luis Delfino raises an open question about security and the judicial system's response to serious crimes. This case, which combines betrayal, greed, and brutality, serves as a wake-up call to authorities regarding the need to strengthen policies to prevent and contain juvenile crime in Uruguay .
On the other hand, Uruguayan society is once again confronting a story that combines personal tragedy and social disintegration, where justice seeks to balance empathy with punishment.
