Suspected Mastermind of Argentina Triple Femicide Jailed in Peru

A Peruvian judge on Friday ordered preventive custody for the alleged mastermind behind the brutal gang murders of two young women and a teenage girl in Argentina, pending the outcome of Argentina’s extradition request.

The judge ruled that 20-year-old Tony Valverde, nicknamed “Little J”, is a flight risk, and remanded him in custody for nine months while awaiting possible extradition on charges of aggravated murder.

The victims, all female, were discovered in a shocking crime scene:

The bodies were found buried in the yard of a house in a southern Buenos Aires suburb last week, five days after their disappearance.

Authorities reported that the three were tortured and killed during a live broadcast in a closed social media group, which investigators believe was punishment for an alleged drug theft.

Investigators indicated that the young women were lured by drug traffickers into a van on 19 September, under the impression that they were going to a party.

Several Argentine media outlets reported that the women had been invited as sex workers. A cousin of Brenda and Morena told AFP that the pair had occasionally engaged in sex work “to survive”, without their families’ knowledge.

The killings sparked national outrage, with thousands of demonstrators taking to the streets in Argentina last weekend demanding justice for the victims.

Valverde is believed to run a drug gang in the Zavaleta neighbourhood of Buenos Aires.

• His lawyer, Marcos Sandoval, asserts his innocence, claiming that Valverde’s work in Argentina involved harvesting blueberries and selling socks.
• Valverde was arrested on Tuesday alongside a suspected Argentine accomplice, 28-year-old Matias Ozorio, in the southern Lima district of Pucusana.
• Ozorio was deported to Argentina on Thursday.

In Argentina, authorities have already arrested seven people in connection with the murders.

Valverde now faces nine months in Peruvian custody as Argentine officials pursue extradition to face charges of aggravated murder for his alleged role as the mastermind behind this horrific crime.

This case has drawn international attention, highlighting issues of gang violence, social media misuse, and the exploitation of vulnerable young women in Argentina.