Brazilian journalist shot dead

A Brazilian journalist Leo Veras who ran the Portuguese-language news outlet,  has been  shot dead , on Thursday when masked men  broke into his private residence located   in the Paraguayan border city of Pedro Juan Caballero,

Penpushing reports that a Paraguayan Prosecutor Marco Amarilla said the victim was having dinner with his wife when two men entered his house and opened fire on him, adding that Veras was known for his journalism on organised crime in the border region between Brazil and Paraguay.. .

The journalists’ union in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul also confirmed that the late journalist had received death threats ahead of the incident.

Penpushing further reports that, many Brazilian criminal organisations operate in Paraguay, which is one of the largest producers of marijuana in Latin America, with most of it smuggled to neighbouring countries Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina.

Meanwhile, it is on record that,in January, there was mass jail breakout from a Paraguayan prison near the border, with most of those who escaped thought to be members of the Brazilian crime cartel Primer Comando da Capital (PCC).