A 25-year-old man was detained during a chase with shots fired in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, after having committed a robbery, and was identified as one of the murderers of Gastón Burlón, the former Secretary of Tourism of Bariloche who was murdered in the same neighboring country city in 2024. According to the Argentine News Agency and as local media indicated, the detained person was identified as Sandro da Silva Vicente, and the operation began because the Military Police were monitoring the vehicle that the thieves used to commit illicit activities. As soon as the uniformed officers intercepted the vehicle, the criminals opened fire, da Silva was injured and had to be taken to the Souza Aguiar Municipal Hospital. The second involved party had a criminal record and remains hospitalized. Burlón, 51 years old, had been hospitalized since December 12, 2024, and died on January 13, 2025, an outcome confirmed by the Bariloche Chamber of Tourism, which described him as “a leader whose passion for promoting tourism will be remembered as a valuable contribution to the development of our community”. The former official had gone on vacation and, by mistake, entered the Morro dos Prazeres favela with his car after visiting Christ the Redeemer with his partner Nadia Loza, former Secretary of Tourism of Salta, and their two children, when he was approached by several criminals who shot him in the head and chest to rob him. That place is located in the Santa Teresa neighborhood, which is dominated by the so-called Comando Vermelho, one of the most dangerous criminal gangs in the area. After the attack, Burlón lost control of his vehicle—a Volkswagen Taos—and crashed into a wall. The victim was rescued by Military Police officers and taken to the Souza Aguiar Municipal Hospital, where he had to be operated on. At the health institution, he remained in an induced coma until he died. In December 2024, four suspects were identified, but the on-duty judge, Orlando Eliazaro Feitosa, did not order the arrests of the accused because “it was not an urgent situation”. “Despite the seriousness of the events, this circumstance alone does not justify the intervention of this on-duty Court, so the case can be evaluated by the Natural Court,” explained the magistrate. It was established that the individuals were identified as Cláudio Augusto dos Santos, Tiago de Oliveira, Raphael Corrêa Pontes, and Sandro da Silva Vicente, the latter, now apprehended, being the one who allegedly fired at the truck.
