Fears are mounting that a boy who disappeared without a trace 12 days ago may be in the hands of human traffickers in Argentina.
Loan Danilo Pena, aged five, vanished in the province of Corrientes, around 450 miles north of the city of Buenos Aires.
He was last seen on June 13, near the district of Gota, when the three adults and three children he was with lost sight of him.
Despite an extensive search operation, there are still no leads in the case that has gripped the nation.
President Javier Milei dispatched security minister Patricia Bullrich to the north on Tuesday to lead the search.
Her trip comes as police are now probing if the boy may have been abducted and trafficked across the border into Paraguay.
Bullrich also confirmed this is a line in the investigation, telling Argentinian media: ‘Loan’s case concerns all Argentines and hopefully it has a happy ending, but it needs to clear up.
‘These are going to be difficult days because the investigation will be confidential, including hard sanctions to anyone who spreads information, which can put the investigation in danger and above all, Loan’s life.’
