“Guerrero has the right to decide where to play, but it’s hard to believe he didn’t know he was going to one of the most dangerous regions in the country” | OPINION

Today we could call this new soap opera “If they don’t let me go, I’ll leave.”. Paolo knows the immense love that the fan professes for him and wants to win this new dispute in an area where he believes he can move at ease: the media. That is why he has taken the blame and has held the Vallejo leaders responsible in case he decides to permanently leave the playing fields.

The first thing Paolo should do at this crucial moment in his career is change advisors. Remember, at least for a few seconds, that the world does not revolve around him. It seems that his environment had accustomed him to living in a bubble, in which ‘sipaolismo’ – with the permission of Aldo Proietto – was the only thing that mattered.

Guerrero has every right to decide where to play. And, of course, in ensuring the integrity of his family, especially that of his mother, the recipient of the threats as he himself has revealed in various interviews.

The fear that exists in La Libertad is not recent. In case you haven’t been told, a few years ago there was a ‘death squad’ created by police to kill criminals extrajudicially. Those responsible were sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2019, among them PNP Colonel Elidio Espinoza, who in the process was elected mayor of Trujillo. None of those involved went to prison because the sentence was suspended and in 2021 Espinoza died a victim of Covid-19.

The day before he appeared on the UCV networks, happy to have signed his contract, Cesar Acuna, in his capacity as governor of La Libertad, met with the President of the Republic at the Government Palace to ask her to declare an emergency in her region, which took place days later. With all these signs, did no one tell Paolo what he was getting into?

In one of his latest statements, he has indicated that he does not plan to pay a single sol in compensation if he is released because he has not received any payment from Vallejo.

Are you serious, Paolo?

Let’s see, let’s stop for a minute: let’s imagine that Richard Acuña’s heart softens, he forgets the hundreds of thousands of dollars that the UCV will lose in this business, the irreparable damage that his brand will suffer, he facilitates the exit for Paolo and he signs for another Peruvian club before the pass book closes. Does that free the Guerrero family from receiving more threats? Do you know that in Lima they not only extort money from people, but that the mafias demand quotas from the owners of wineries and restaurants, and that motorcycle taxi drivers are also victims of hitmen?

Biological age is not always synonymous with maturity. Having just turned 40, Paolo needs to listen to other voices and assume his responsibilities.

All this – and here the clarification is worth it – does not imply that neither the Acuña nor the Government are having a problem. The former cannot avoid their guilt in the overflow of insecurity that exists in La Libertad, a region that they have managed for many years. The same goes for the Government, whose Minister of the Interior, in a new example of his absolute ineptitude, recommended to Guerrero – according to lawyer Julio García – “hire private security.” A nightmare.