“El Maradona” shot dead by San Pedro church minutes after attending child's first communion

The peaceful and happy Saturday-morning routine in San Pedro was shattered last week, 12 May, with the brutal assassination of a man while he was just driving off in his car by the Virgen del Rocío parish church.

The 36-year-old, who died of his injuries, was with family members who had just attended the first communion service of his child when a man wearing a motorcycle helmet approached and shot him.

The victim was a well-known businessman nicknamed El Maradona and sources said the death appeared to be part of a drug-related feud between rival criminal groups. In the last few months both the gym the man owned as well as a beach bar in Estepona that he part-owned had been subjected to alleged arson attacks.