Federal judge Cristina Pozzer Penzo dismissed human-trafficking charges against eight defendants in the disappearance of five-year-old Loan Danilo Peña in Corrientes, Argentina, ruling out a trafficking hypothesis while the separate trial for child abduction and concealment continues against seven of the accused.
Two years and two months after five-year-old Loan Danilo Peña vanished from a citrus grove in El Algarrobal near 9 de Julio, Corrientes, the judicial landscape surrounding the case has shifted significantly. In a 104-page ruling issued on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, Federal Judge Cristina Pozzer Penzo of Goya dismissed the human-trafficking charges that had driven the investigation into the federal court system since the early weeks following the boy’s disappearance.
The decision brings legal closure to a specific investigative track without freeing the primary defendants from judicial accountability. Seven of the eight individuals freed from the trafficking accusation remain on trial before the Oral Federal Tribunal of Corrientes on charges of abducting and concealing the child.
Dissecting the Ruling: Why the Trafficking Hypothesis Collapsed
The trafficking theory had dominated the initial weeks of the investigation, prompting provincial authorities to transfer the expediente to federal jurisdiction on June 24, 2024. Investigators explored multiple international angles, including Paraguayan, Colombian, Peruvian, and Uruguayan leads, alongside organized crime theories, drug-trafficking connections, and intrafamilial revenge. Every external lead ultimately yielded negative results.
The judicial pivot redefines the nature of the crime under the dismissed federal file.
Who Is Cleared and Who Stays on Trial in Corrientes
- María Victoria Caillava, former municipal official
- Carlos Guido Pérez, retired Navy captain
- Walter Maciel, former police commissioner
- Laudelena Peña, the child’s aunt
- Antonio Bernardino Benítez
- Daniel “Fierrito” Ramírez
- Mónica del Carmen Millapi
- Francisco Amado Méndez, former police officer
While all eight are cleared of human trafficking, the procedural standing of the defendants splits sharply regarding the ongoing oral debate at Gendarmeria National’s Squadron 48. Prosecutors and investigators maintain that the dropping of the trafficking allegation does not impair the primary prosecution for the alleged abduction and concealment of Loan.
Furthermore, for Millapi, Benítez, and Ramírez, the new federal ruling also dismisses initial provincial charges of child abandonment (abandono de persona
) due to the expiration of statutory processing deadlines.
The Continuing Oral Debate and Forensic Evidence
With the federal trafficking file closed, attention focuses squarely on the active oral proceedings.
Simultaneously, the judge’s 104-page text established a firm baseline regarding the initial disappearance: Pozzer Penzo emphasized that what transpired in El Algarrobal was not an accident and that the purpose to abduct the minor and conceal him is proven, providing the underlying rationale for elevating the abduction charges to trial.
Next Steps and Ongoing Search Protocols
Legal representatives for the plaintiff families expressed alignment with the judicial outcome. María Belén Russo Cornara, attorney for the querella, noted that the legal evolution was anticipated once trafficking indicators evaporated, adding that the development leaves the core kidnapping trial undisturbed.
Despite closing the trafficking expediente, federal authorities stressed that the search for Loan Danilo Peña remains fully open. Judge Pozzer Penzo ordered the continuous operation of the Corrientes Joint Unified Command, active Interpol international alerts, and ongoing search protocols managed by the Federal System for the Identification of Missing Persons (SIFEBU). The Ministry of Security’s financial incentive—offering 20 million pesos for actionable intelligence regarding the child’s whereabouts—remains active across all public platforms.
