Overview

• Judge Pablo Morán’s federal court approved a juicio abreviado under which three defendants will serve two-year terms in custody or house arrest and a fourth will avoid jail under probation conditions.
• Investigators traced the crime to photographs of the skinned carcass shared on social media, leading Ana Magdalena Gutiérrez and federal park rangers to identify and detain the suspects.
• Legal and environmental groups praise this as the first conviction of its kind for yaguareté poaching to reach an oral trial and produce effective sentences, a potential deterrent under Argentina’s fauna laws.
• Conservationists warn that fewer than 20 yaguaretés remain in the Gran Chaco and under 300 nationwide, with retaliatory livestock killings and deforestation cited as the main drivers of decline.
• Recent reintroduction programs and the July confirmation of a wild-born cub near Río Bermejo show recovery is possible but reinforce the need for robust habitat protection and coexistence measures.