Warrant for mayor arrest in Paraguay killings

Prosecutors in Paraguay have issued an arrest warrant for a former mayor accused of killing a journalist and his assistant Oct. 16 after they returned from a reporting assignment in the indigenous settlement of Ko’ê Porã, about 155 miles (250 kilometers) east of the capital Asuncion.

Vilmar Acosta, the former mayor of the town of Ypejhú, has been charged in the killing of Pablo Medina, a correspondent for the newspaper ABC Color, and Medina's assistant Antonia Almada, the Spanish newspaper El Diario said. Acosta is also being charged in the August killing of a political rival, Julián Núñez, who was planning to run for mayor of the town in 2015.

The arrest warrant came after Acosta's chauffeur, Arnaldo Cabrera told police that his boss was behind Medina's killing during interrogations Dec. 8, the Argentine newspaper La Nacion reported. Police are also looking for Acosta's brother Wilson and his nephew Gustavo, who are accused of carrying out Medina's killing at Vilmar Acosta's behest.

Medina had previously reported on drug trafficking and timber smuggling in eastern Paraguay, and police suspect Acosta had been involved in marijuana trafficking in the region, according to Ultima Hora, a Paraguayan news site.