January 25: 25 years after the murder of José Luis Cabezas

This January 25 marks the 25th anniversary of the murder of photojournalist José Luis Cabeza at the hands of a gang of criminals from La Plata, who worked on the orders of the head of security of businessman Alfredo Yabrán and together with the Buenos Aires policeman Gustavo Prellezo. The death of Cabezas, a photographer for Noticias magazine since 1989, occurred on January 25, 1997 but began in the summer of 1996, when he and journalist Gabriel Michi took a photo of Yabrán on the beaches of Pinamar. 

The cover of the Magazine Noticias about Alfredo Yabrán

Until that moment, Yabrán’s face was unknown to the general public but his name had begun to turn in the media following the denunciation of Domingo Cavallo, then Minister of Economy who accused him of being the “boss of a mafia entrenched in power”. The truth is that the businessman maintained close relations with the government of Carlos Menem and several ministries. His businesses ranged from real estate to transportation, logistics, among others. He was always linked to all kinds of illicit activities. He was even credited with a phrase that denoted his wide range of contacts and the impossibility of recognizing him: “Taking a picture of me is like shooting myself in the forehead. Not even the intelligence services have a picture of me.”

Alfredo Yabrán was charged with the crime in 1999. When they went to look for him to stop him, he shot himself in the face and died. His death was surrounded by conspiracy theories and there are those who claim that it was someone else | Photo: NA 

On February 15, 1996 and after having followed his footprint throughout the summer, Cabezas and Michi managed to portray him on the beaches of Pinamar walking with his wife. The photo was published a few days later and was a journalistic achievement that cost the photographer his life. Cabezas’ cadaver was found inside a charred car, with two shots to the head and his hands tied. He had been kidnapped the night before after a party of businessman Oscar Andreani. 

Cabezas’ crime provoked a massive and forceful response from the press and civil society in defense of freedom of expression | Photo: NA

According to the protagonists of the story, after the publication of the photo in Noticias they began to receive threats and even the mayor of Pinamar had revealed to the victim that people from Yabran had inquired about the address where he would stay during the coverage of the season. ” The four members of the “Los Horneros” gang, Gregorio Ríos, Yabrán’s security chief, and police officers Aníbal Luna, Gustavo Prellezo and Sergio Camaratta, were convicted of the crime.Six months after the murder of the photojournalist, the Minister of Justice of the Nation, Elías Jassán, resigned when more than a hundred telephone contacts with Yabrán were revealed after cabezas’ death.

Original source in Spanish