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“SENATE RESOLUTION 269--COMMEMORATING THE LIFE OF LUIS ALEJANDRO ``ALEX'' VILLAMAYOR AND CALLING FOR JUSTICE AND ACCOUNTABILITY” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Senate section on pages S4636-S4637 on June 27, 2019.
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The publication is reproduced in full below:
SENATE RESOLUTION 269--COMMEMORATING THE LIFE OF LUIS ALEJANDRO
``ALEX'' VILLAMAYOR AND CALLING FOR JUSTICE AND ACCOUNTABILITY
Mr. CARDIN (for himself and Mr. Van Hollen) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:
S. Res. 269
Whereas United States citizen Luis Alejandro ``Alex'' Villamayor was born on July 3, 1998, to parents Puning Luk Villamayor and Luis Felipe Villamayor in Rockville, Maryland;
Whereas Alex Villamayor is remembered by his family as a smart, loving, and compassionate young man with a good sense of humor, who was committed to his parents, siblings, and friends;
Whereas Alex Villamayor moved with his family at the age of six to Paraguay, where he was a devoted member of his church and always had attention for those less fortunate;
Whereas Alex Villamayor graduated with honors from Paraguay's Pan American International School (PAIS) and was accepted to attend Montgomery College in Maryland in the Fall of 2015;
Whereas Alex Villamayor aspired to study business management and return to Paraguay to pursue a career that would help and support the Paraguayan people;
Whereas Alex Villamayor was murdered on June 27, 2015, in the City of Encarnacion in Paraguay;
Whereas Alex Villamayor's death was wrongfully ruled a suicide by Paraguayan authorities before a comprehensive investigation was carried out;
Whereas, in the initial weeks of the investigation, Paraguayan authorities failed to collect blood and DNA samples from individuals present at the scene of the crime, conduct gunshot residue analysis on individuals present at the crime scene, and collect cellular phone records and data from individuals present at the crime scene;
Whereas, in August 2015, Alex Villamayor's body was exhumed for additional forensic examination, which found that he had been raped and physically assaulted prior to his death;
Whereas, in August 2015, Paraguayan prosecutor Olga Wilma Araujo Ayala was suspended from the investigation into and legal case related to Alex Villamayor's death due to mismanagement of the case;
Whereas, in September 2015, Mathias Wilbs, an employee at the property where Alex Villamayor was murdered, admitted in a televised public interview that he had removed the murder weapon from the crime scene and placed another firearm in Alex Villamayor's hand;
Whereas, in September 2015, Alex Villamayor's death was ruled a homicide and Rene Hofstetter and Mathias Wilbs were charged with crimes in relation to Alex Villamayor's murder;
Whereas, in October 2015, Paraguayan authorities opened a formal investigation of Alain Jacks Diaz de Bedoya for his role in Alex Villamayor's murder;
Whereas, in November 2016, Paraguayan authorities dropped the charges against Alain Jacks Diaz de Bedoya related to Alex Villamayor's murder;
Whereas Members of the United States Congress have urged the Government of Paraguay to invite the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation to provide technical assistance for the investigation into Alex Villamayor's death and the United States Embassy in Asuncion, Paraguay has offered such assistance to Paraguayan authorities;
Whereas, to date, the Government of Paraguay has not invited the Federal Bureau of Investigation to provide technical assistance for the investigation into Alex Villamayor's death;
Whereas the United States embassy in Asuncion, Paraguay, and the Department of State have not issued any formal public statements about Alex Villamayor's murder and the many irregularities in the investigation into his death;
Whereas, in February 2017, outgoing United States Ambassador Leslie A. Basset told media outlets that Alex Villamayor ``died under dark circumstances'' and that ``the investigation and the handling of this case has been worrisome''; and
Whereas, in April 2018, Rene Hofstetter was convicted of homicide and sentenced to 12 years in prison and Mathias Wilbs was sentenced to two years and 10 months on obstruction of justice;
Whereas, in spite of these convictions, media outlets report that others implicated in the murder and cover-up have not been charged; and
Whereas, members of Alex Villamayor's immediate family continue to face grave physical threats in Paraguay for their pursuit of justice: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) commemorates the life of United States citizen Luis Alejandro ``Alex'' Villamayor and offers condolences to his family and friends;
(2) expresses profound concern about the delays in achieving justice in Alex Villamayor's case;
(3) urges Paraguayan authorities to invite the Federal Bureau of Investigation to provide technical assistance to properly investigate the circumstances surrounding Alex Villamayor's death and assess whether other individuals may have had a role in the crime or cover-up;
(4) urges the Government of Paraguay to provide for the physical security of Alex Villamayor's family and others seeking justice in this case and to properly investigate recent threats against their lives, charging those implicated in such threats;
(5) calls on the Department of State to prioritize justice for Alex Villamayor in its diplomatic engagement with the Government of Paraguay; and
(6) calls on the Department of State to review its procedures for providing services to the families of United States citizens slain or assaulted abroad.
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, today I rise to pay tribute to an exemplary young Marylander whose life was tragically cut short four years ago today. Senator Van Hollen and I have just introduced a resolution which pays tribute to Alex's life, calls for justice and accountability in his murder, and procedures to ensure other families do not suffer this same tragedy.
Luis Alejandro ``Alex'' Villamayor was born on July 3, 1998, to parents Puning Luk Villamayor and Luis Felipe Villamayor in Rockville, Maryland. Those who knew him remember him as a smart, loving, and compassionate young man with a good sense of humor. Alex was committed to his parents, siblings, and friends. He was a devoted member of his church and always sought to help those less fortunate.
Alex Villamayor moved with his family to Paraguay at the age of six. He attended high school there and graduated with honors from the Pan American International School and was accepted to attend Montgomery College in Maryland in the fall of 2015 to study business management. He ultimately planned to pursue a career to help and support the Paraguayan people, but was tragically murdered on June 27, 2015, in the city of Encarnacion.
Alex's death was wrongfully ruled a suicide by Paraguayan authorities, who had not properly investigated the death at that point and failed to collect blood and DNA samples from individuals present at the scene of the crime, conduct gunshot residue analysis, or collect cellular phone records and data from individuals present at the crime scene.
After Alex's family noted gross inconsistencies in accounts of his death, Alex's body was exhumed for additional forensic examination, which found that he had been raped and physically assaulted prior to his death. Finally, in September 2015, Alex's death was ruled a homicide. Rene Hofstetter and Mathias Wilbs were charged with crimes in relation to Alex Villamayor's murder and Paraguayan authorities opened a formal investigation of Alain Jacks Diaz de Bedoya, who was also present at the time of Alex's death. While the charges against, Mr. Diaz de Bedoya were eventually dropped, in April 2018 Rene Hofstetter was convicted of homicide and sentenced to 12 years in prison and Mathias Wilbs was sentenced to two years and 10 months on obstruction of justice.
In spite of these convictions, I remain concerned about the handling of this case. In spite of an offer to assist, the Government of Paraguay never allowed the FBI to provide technical assistance for the investigation. Our Ambassador at the time told media outlets that ``the investigation and the handling of this case has been worrisome.'' Of even greater concern, members of Alex's immediate family continue to face grave physical threats in Paraguay for their pursuit of justice.
Senators Van Hollen and I continue to offer our deepest condolences to the Villamayor family and, through this resolution, call on Paraguayan authorities to finally allow the FBI to assist in this case and provide the necessary protections to Alex's family. We similarly ask the Department of State to prioritize justice for Alex Villamayor in its diplomatic engagement with the Government of Paraguay and to review its procedures for providing services to the families of United States citizens slain or assaulted abroad.
On this sad anniversary, we remain committed to honoring the life of Alex Villamayor and working to ensure this tragic story does not repeat itself.
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