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Trial of soccer star's accused shooter starts in Mexico

Published April 19, 2011

| EFE

The trial for falsifying documents of Jose Jorge Balderas, a suspected drug trafficker accused of shooting Paraguayan soccer star Salvador Cabañas, has started, the Mexican Attorney General's Office said.

Balderas allegedly shot Cabañas, who played for Club America, in the head on Jan. 25, 2010, in the restroom at Mexico City's Bar Bar.

He was arrested on Jan. 18 and later sent to the El Altiplano maximum-security prison to await trial.

Balderas faces drug, money laundering and arms charges, the AG's office said.

His first trial, however, will be on document falsification charges because prosecutors completed the procedures for that case first.

Balderas was in possession of several passports obtained with different birth certificates, prosecutors allege.

Another judge agreed Monday to drop charges against Juliana Sosa Toro, a 25-year-old Colombian identified as Balderas's girlfriend, judicial officials said.

Sosa Toro is being held at the Iztapalapa immigration detention center in southeast Mexico City, awaiting a decision on her legal status in the country, officials told Efe.

The young woman, who was arrested along with Balderas in January, led investigators to the suspect with information she posted on Facebook.

Sosa Toro, who worked as a model, may be deported, officials said.

Balderas gave several interviews on television after his arrest, telling his side of the story.

He said his bodyguard, Jose Francisco Barreto Garcia, was the one who shot the soccer player.

Barreto Garcia and a janitor at the club, however, identified Balderas as the one who pulled the trigger.

Cabañas is "a bothersome drunk and aggressive," Balderas told Televisa.

The soccer player, who was shot in the head, was drunk and head-butted and kicked him in the restroom of the club, Balderas told Televisa.

"He should have apologized to me because he was the one who attacked me," Balderas Garza said.

Cabañas, one of South America's top strikers in recent years, was the leading goal scorer in the 2007 and 2008 Copa Libertadores tournaments and in Mexican league play in 2006.

Prior to the shooting, his strong performances in World Cup qualifying play had made him a key figure on the Paraguayan national team, which had to do without his services last year in South Africa.

The soccer player has made a strong recovery, thanks to treatment received in Mexico, Argentina and his homeland, but it is unclear if he will be able to play again.

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