The Colombian who fled for 30 years after murdering a young woman in Barranquilla was arrested in Brazil

Martín Mestre holds a portrait of his daughter Nancy Mariana, taken a few months before she died. CARLOS PARRA RIOS

The eternal flight of the Colombian Jaime Saade ended this Monday.

The man convicted of the rape and death of Nancy Mariana Mestre, who had been evading justice for 29 years, was arrested by the Brazilian Federal Police, in what appears to be his last attempt to escape, according to the digital media G1.

Saade was in a pension 2,000 kilometers from Belo Horizonte, where in recent years he had established his residence.

The Brazilian Supreme Court approved his extradition to Colombia two weeks ago, but he was free, which opened the possibility of a new flight.

This time he was unsuccessful, three decades after the crime, Saade is closer than ever to being handed over to Colombian justice.

The final decision will be made by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

"I am very excited, justice is finally going to be done," the young woman's father, Martín Mestre, told EL PAÍS, after receiving the news, which his lawyer has confirmed.

There has not been a single day since January 1, 1994 that this father has stopped looking for the murderer of his daughter, whom no one has seen in Barranquilla since then.

It was his efforts that motivated a search for a film in which the last part will now have to be written in Colombia, with Saade's entry into jail.

Interpol had issued a red alert these days entitled "fugitive from Colombian justice", to reactivate his search, and Martín had already warned of his fear that he would escape again.

As reported by G1, Saade tried to run away when he was surprised by the police, but the agents surrounded him and he did not resist.

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