In 2009 the world was talking about
Ángel Cabrera
.
The Argentine golfer, who two years earlier had caused astonishment by winning the United States Open, put on the green jacket reserved for the champion of the
Augusta Masters
, the
major
that every golfer wants to win since he starts playing.
Just 14 years passed.
The green jacket, as always since 1934, is at stake again.
But
Pato
Cabrera is far from the greens of the exclusive and selective Augusta National Golf Club, beyond the fact that his winning status would allow him to play the tournament for life.
It is that these days
he is serving a sentence for gender violence
.
Cabrera smiles after hitting the big shot at the 2009 Augusta Masters. (AP)
Violent times
How did he end up behind bars?
He first accumulated complaints against him.
Cecilia Torres Mana
, one of his ex-partners, accused him of
"beating, harassment, verbal threats and mistreatment of all kinds"
.
She was not the only victim of him.
The testimonies of
Micaela Escudero,
another of his ex, and
Silvia Rivadero
, the mother of his children, swelled the accusation.
Thus, while the investigation in justice progressed, Cabrera went to play a tournament in the United States in mid-2020 and was absent in several inquiries.
He claimed to be injured and have to undergo treatment in North America - a wrist was operated on.
Between excuses, he avoided returning to the country and forced an international arrest warrant
to be launched
.
He was finally arrested in January 2021 in Brazil.
Days later he was extradited to Argentina and was detained in the Bouwer prison, in Córdoba, awaiting the trial that finally took place in July of that year.
Ángel Cabrera, during the trial in which he was convicted of gender violence.
Photo: AFP
The golfer, who is 53 years old today, warned:
"I am going to prove that I am innocent
. "
He could not.
Days later he was found guilty of
aggravated injuries and simple theft
against his ex-partner.
They gave him an effective prison sentence of two years.
During the trial, videos from the security cameras of Cabrera's house were used as evidence, as well as other recordings made by Torres Mana.
Prosecutor
Laura Battistelli
, who was the one who requested the two-year sentence later confirmed by the Court, also requested that
Cabrera be subjected to psychological treatment for the attacks on Torres Mana to overcome his addiction to alcohol.
"There are two things that stand out in the ruling. There was room for the injuries to be classified as gender violence. And based on that, it has been considered that even if it is a sentence that does not exceed three years, it is served properly effective. The part of gender violence was what weighed in the penalty
," Batistelli highlighted in his plea.
The arrest of Pato Cabrera in Brazil.
Wholesale threats
The lawyer Carlos Nayi, sponsor of Torres Mana, recalled that when he was arrested in Brazil, Cabrera took the phone and gave his ex a horrible warning.
"There was a deathly silence and I thought that her phone had been cut off. And she began to cry and I realized that terror took hold of her, because the golfer had threatened to kill her if she went to jail," he recalled
.
"Many times he told me that it belonged to him or it did not belong to anyone. On several occasions he reminded me that if I went to jail I would return in a drawer,"
said
Torres Mana, who lived in terror
.
And she continued: "
He threatened me saying that the people I work with are not good at all and that is why I was always afraid for my family
. "
El
Pato
flew in a private plane and always appeared at his house.
He took her cell phone to control who he was talking to.
He was even jealous of her brother and did not let her mother see that she was sick.
Other times.
Cecilia Torre Mana and Angel Cabrera.
"He was terribly jealous,"
Rivadero added
.
"He made video calls to me and I had to show him who he was with and where he was. No one could call me because he would get angry
," Escudero said
.
Justice asked the women why they did not move away from the attacker and they replied:
"Because he threatened me and my family. I could not separate because I feared for my life
," said Micaela Escudero, who was his girlfriend between 2014 and 2016. And he added:
"He is a person who breaks all limits and is very aggressive.
He made me video calls and I had to show him who he was with and where he was.
He couldn't call me nobody because he would get mad."
And Nayi completed:
"He thought that his career was a safe-conduct to avoid what could happen with the courts in Córdoba, but he was extradited and had to face trial
. "
Cabrera seeks freedom, but...
What is Cabrera's life these days?
Carlos Hairabedian, his lawyer, tells it in dialogue with
Clarín
:
"He is currently detained in the Colonia Abierta Monte Cristo (a model prison 20 kilometers from the city of Córdoba). Agricultural and livestock activities are carried out there. If everything goes Well, he's out on parole in July
. "
His move to the penal establishment allowed him, at least, to get away from the common criminals housed in Bouwer.
However, beyond having benefited from the transfer, Cabrera does not have it so easy.
It is that
the now ex-golfer is coming up with another trial requested by Escudero, which could take place before he completes the first sentence
.
Tired of the threats, the woman moved to Buenos Aires, but she could never get Cabrera off her back and again denounced him before the national justice system.
"Everything was crazy. That's why I don't want him to go free and let's go for another trial
," says the complainant, who accuses him of
minor injuries and coercion
.
Ángel Cabrera speaks with Carlos Hairabedian, his lawyer.
AFP
For now, the case has not advanced, but
the justice system gave him the anti-panic button as a prevention
.
Nayi, who recently began sponsoring Escudero, told this newspaper that he expects the new trial to begin as soon as possible.
"These characters do not improve anymore ... He has a face in front of society, but in front of his women he will continue to be violent. This man does not change anymore and he deserves to remain in prison," he emphasized
.
A total of 242 femicides were registered in Argentina during 2022. This is equivalent, according to a report by the Femicide Observatory of the National Ombudsman's Office (OFDPN), to four events
per week
that caused 200 sons and daughters to be left without their mother as a result of the crimes.
Cordova.
Correspondent.
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