Alberto Lebbos cannot manage to smile. He tries, yes, but he can’t. He barely forces a grimace on his stern face. His sad eyes, always downcast, reflect the reason for his plight: 20 years ago, his daughter Paulina was murdered in Tucumán, his homeland. Alberto’s story is a mirror of pain and loss, a reminder that justice sometimes bends when power gets involved.
Paulina was 23 years old with a million dreams ahead. One of them was to be a journalist. In fact, she was studying for that. But on February 26, 2006, she was cruelly murdered, within a plot that still remains unresolved today. Because there appear involved the «children of power»: those young people who believe they are untouchable because their parents hold prominent government positions. They abuse that condition and engage in notorious «black parties,» where drugs, alcohol, and all kinds of abuse are rampant.
In Paulina’s case, the suspects were high-profile: Eduardo Di Lella, former Tucumán Security Secretary; Hugo Sánchez, former Police Chief; Nicolás Barrera, former Deputy Chief of the force; Héctor Brito, former Chief of the Northern Regional Unit; and Waldino Rodríguez, former Raco police officer. But that’s not all. During the trial, it was revealed that Sergio Kaleñuk, son of the then-governor José Alperovich’s private secretary, made numerous contradictory statements. Expert reports showed that on the morning of the murder, several calls were recorded between Kaleñuk and Di Lella, Barrera, and even Alperovich’s security detail.
Even one of the former governor’s sons was investigated: Daniel Alperovich had to undergo a DNA test. But the mix of names conspired against the investigation. Because that’s how Tucumán is: a land where mafias rule, regardless of political colors. Everyone is partners with everyone. The then-governor, upon learning that his son was among the suspects, ordered the investigation shelved. The murder went unpunished.
Alberto has lost hope. And consequently, his smile. He knows that Paulina’s murder will hardly ever be solved. But he does not give up. He keeps marching in the emblematic Plaza Independencia in Tucumán, right in front of the government house. He bothers the powerful, who always fear him. And they have never been able to buy him off.
In 2017, a journalist went to present his book on Susana Trimarco and promised Alberto he would investigate Paulina’s death. Alberto only said «thank you» and hugged him. An almost salvific gesture. Today, on Father’s Day, the journalist greeted him again. Alberto’s response surprised him: «Thank you very much for your gesture, which I value and appreciate!!!» He tried to imagine his face from a distance, with that grimace that will never be a smile. And he promised him again the same as in 2017: to move forward with a book about the impossible tragedy of his daughter.
Paulina Lebbos is a stain on justice and on the covering-up Peronism of Tucumán. Alberto, the father who cannot smile, keeps fighting. Because the truth, though late, always finds a crack.
para mi hace 20 años y la justicia sigue siendo una garcha todo x los hdps de siempre los hijos de puta del poder justicia paulina carajo alberto no estas solo los chorros de guantes blancos nos deben una vamos a luchar x los pibes
Para mí este Alberto Lebbos es un héroe nacional. 20 años contra el sistema corrupto de Tucumán, los hijos del poder se creen intocables. Kukas y peronchos se tapan entre ellos, esto huele a mafia. Que se pudran todos, la justicia no existe en este país.