Empanada vendor was murdered in Valledupar, apparently due to outstanding debt

Last Monday, around 9:00 in the evening, 26-year-old Maria de los Ángeles Araujo was killed after being shot several times with a firearm while working at her empanada stand in Valledupar, capital of Caesar.

According to Adalberto Aníbal Coronel, the victim's ex-partner, he was at the sales point, located in the San Martín neighborhood, when four guys on two motorcycles approached him and, without dialogue, shot him in the back. The criminals, who would appear to be paydays, turned on their motorcycles and started to flee without giving them time to react.

Those who witnessed the event helped the woman, who was transferred to the Santa Isabel clinic. However, he died minutes after admission due to the severity of his injuries.

The victim, of Venezuelan nationality, was reportedly killed because he did not pay a debt he had outstanding for four months, according to information from local media. Coronel even stated that on April 1 a similar event occurred with the lenders 'drop by drop', who approached her house and intimidated her.

“Apparently he owed them 300,000 pesos, but because of a three-letter delay, interest increased. The first time there was a fight and they even threatened to kill a brother, they kicked the bars of the house and Maria De Los Angeles went out to defend herself with a stick causing damage to a motorcycle of the collectors, who immediately warned her that it would not stay that way,” he said.

In the media 'Diario del Cesar' they learned that, when this latest incident occurred, several relatives recommended that Maria de los Ángeles file the complaint with the Prosecutor's Office. This is because a name appeared on the payment control card that could be linked to the receivers.

Andrés Alberto Palencia, director of Public Prosecutions in Cesar, confirmed the versions that point to an unfulfilled loan as the main reason for the homicide: “The woman had financial problems, had resorted to people who lend money illegally and it seems that she had not complied with the agreements or deadlines for delivery of the monies and this led to the decision having been taken, allegedly, by the organization that lends the money to assassinate her.”

The authorities said that the investigations are progressing to capture those responsible, in addition, according to Araújo's relatives, the license plates of the motorcycles have already been identified: “We hope that this crime does not go unpunished, that justice is done because unfortunately this is the action of the cobradiarians and nobody does nothing,” added Adalberto Coronel.

María de los Ángeles Araújo is the fifth woman killed in Valledupar so far this year. Of these cases, three were clarified by the Office of the Prosecutor. Meanwhile, Cesar authorities have reported 12 femicides in 2022.

In the last hours, officials of the Ministry of Health of Valledupar are carrying out inspection and control operations with the aim of verifying sanitary conditions in the run-up to Holy Week and the Vallenato Festival.

These operations, as reported by Lina de Armas, Secretary of Health, began in bars, gastrobars, restaurants, liquor stores, hotels, motels and other establishments busy at this time. “We need a healthy city, with all the hygiene conditions required by the authorities. In the same way, a call is made to the community to comply with the covid-19 vaccination scheme, an essential requirement to be able to enjoy these important dates.”

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