In Corrientes, Argentina, there are new developments in the case of Danilo Peña, the boy who went missing in June 2024. The court has set a date for the preliminary hearing and confirmed the unification of two cases. Consequently, 17 accused individuals will stand trial. María Belén Russo Cornara, the complainant's lawyer, told Noticias Argentina agency that the first of several preliminary hearings will take place on February 27, 2026, at 9:30 AM. During these hearings, defense motions, the designation of evidence, and witness lists will be presented. It is highlighted that the prosecution may present a list of over 700 people to testify. 'There are many witnesses in the case, and it is known that some may give the same testimony, so the number can be reduced to expedite the process,' Cornara emphasized. The Federal Oral Court of Corrientes ordered 'to consolidate the files FCT 2157/2024/TO1 and FCT 2157/2024/TO2,' which means that 17 accused will face trial for the disappearance of the child in the 9 de Julio locality. Seven of the accused are charged with the abduction and concealment of the child: Laudelina Peña (Loan's aunt), María Caillavet and her husband Carlos Guido Pérez, Bernardino Antonio Benítez, Daniel Oscar Ramírez and his partner Mónica del Carmen Millapi, and Commissioner Walter Adrián Maciel. The other ten are accused of various crimes, including tampering with testimonies, obstructing the investigation, and defrauding the public administration. Days ago, the Corrientes court in charge of the oral trial ratified federal jurisdiction after rejecting a motion from one of the defenses that requested the case be returned to provincial court, as the hypothesis of human trafficking had not been proven. Regarding the search operations underway since mid-November, Cornara told NA: 'We fully trust what is being done and how it is being done.' 'For now, nothing has appeared, which is both good and bad, but it helps us to rule out hypotheses,' she added.
