Belgrano: a retiree was tied up and robbed of USD $30,000 inside her home

TheCity of Buenos Airesis experiencing a concerning escalation of violence and insecurity that no longer distinguishes between neighborhoods or ages. In the same early morning, a 64-year-old retiree was attacked by five criminals inside her apartment in Belgrano, and a 79-year-old man lost his life in Parque Chacabuco after being brutally beaten during a robbery. Both incidents, so close in time and severity, starkly expose the deterioration of security in Buenos Aires under the current administration of Jorge Macri.

The first of the episodes occurred around 3:30 on Monday in a building located on Sucre 2800, in the heart of Belgrano. The victim, a retired woman who was sleeping in her home, was surprised by  five criminals who entered the building without forcing the main entrance. According to sources in the case, "they entered with the key and robbed her."

Once inside the apartment, the thieves forced the manual lock of the access door, overpowered the victim,tied her up, and caused her visible injuries to the face and hands. The loot was considerable:  30,000 dollars in cash, a Samsung phone (without geolocation activated), and other unidentified valuables. The case is being investigated by the National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor's Office No. 61, led by prosecutor Martín López Perrando, with the intervention of the Sole Secretariat of Dr. Leandro Alonso.

Despite her injuries, the victim managed to alert the authorities once the criminals fled. Officers from Neighborhood Police Station 13C found the woman tied up and visibly injured. She was treated on-site by SAME personnel.

During the inspection of the property, it was confirmed that the apartment's security lock had been forced, but not the building's door, which strengthened the hypothesis that the assailants entered with a copy of the key. Authorities are now analyzing the building's and area's security cameras to identify the perpetrators and reconstruct their escape route. So far, there are no arrests.

But the most alarming thing is that this was not the only violent incident that occurred that early morning in the city. Less than ten kilometers away, in a house on José Manuel Estrada 900, in the neighborhood of Parque Chacabuco, another  retiree was the victim of a robbery that ended in tragedy. Mario Villanueva, 79 years old,  was found dead by personnel from Neighborhood Police Station 7B after a brutal beating. According to the autopsy, none of the blows received were severe enough to cause his death, but the beating caused an arrhythmia that proved fatal.

In this case, the situation worsens even more: the man's caregiver, a 20-year-old woman, confessed to acting as an informant. According to her statement,  she facilitated the entry of two criminals, one of them her relative and the other a friend. Both remain  fugitives. It was a neighbor who, upon hearing the cries for help, alerted 911.

The case is in charge of the National Criminal Prosecutor's Office No. 9, led by prosecutor Lucio Herrera. The investigation continues, but the social impact of the violence unleashed that night is already irreversible.