Family of Paraguay's First Lady are Among 99 People Missing in Fla. Condo Collapse

[Judi Lynn]

Following the early morning collapse, 99 people are still missing, while 53 have been accounted for in Surfside

By Rachel DeSantis June 24, 2021 03:44 PM

The first lady of Paraguay is reportedly among the dozens of family members concerned over their loved ones' whereabouts following a condo collapse outside of Miami that has killed at least one person and left 99 missing.

The sister of President Mario Abdo Benítez's wife Silvana López Moreira is among those unaccounted for, as is her husband and three children, NBC News reported, South American officials.

Euclides Acevedo, Paraguay's foreign minister, reportedly said that Sophia López Moreira, her husband Luis Pettengill, their three children and Lady Luna Villalba, a worker accompanying the family, are all missing after the Thursday morning collapse of a condo building in Surfside.

The first family of Paraguay is "frantically" trying to make contact with their loved ones as authorities comb through all the hospitals in Miami, Acevedo said.

More:
https://people.com/human-interest/family-of-paraguays-first-lady-among-missing-condo-collapse/

[Judi Lynn]

1. 'Hopefully they are alive': Many missing after building collapse are from Latin America

BY SYRA ORTIZ-BLANES, KEVIN G. HALL, BIANCA PADRÓ OCASIO, MARTIN VASSOLO, ADRIANA BRASILEIRO, AND SAMANTHA GROSS
JUNE 24, 2021 04:51 PM, UPDATED 2 HOURS 1 MINUTE AGO

At least 27 people from Latin American nations — including Colombia, Cuba, Chile, Paraguay, Puerto Rico and Argentina — are among those reported missing by friends and family following the partial collapse of a residential building in Surfside on early Thursday morning, highlighting the international reach of the tragedy in a region that serves as a link between the United States and Latin America.

Sophia López Moreira Bó, the sister of first lady of Paraguay Silvana López Moreira Bó, along with her husband Luis Pettengill and their three young children, were among those said to be missing. They were accompanied by Lady Villalba, a domestic worker. The family owned units 703 and 1010 at the Champlain Towers, according to public records reviewed by the Miami Herald.

“You feel like you are nothing. You want to do so much but you can’t do it, you have no strength,” said Yuby Cartes, an aunt of Pettengill’s. “I’m staying here until I learn something.” Cartes said their relatives are coming in a private plane to Miami as they await news.

Paraguay’s foreign affairs minister, Euclides Acevedo, and Federico Campos López Moreira, a lawyer and relative of the first lady and her sister, both confirmed to Paraguayan media that López Moreira Bó and her family were unaccounted for. But the Paraguayan consulate in Miami said they are waiting for more details from the authorities, including a list of missing persons. They were still in the process of searching hospitals, added Emilio Mateu, a consular officer.

The family was in Miami to receive vaccinations against the coronavirus, according to Paraguayan radio station La Unión. That was also the case for the relatives of Doral resident Sergio Barth, who awaited news at the family reunification center.

More:
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article252339963.html

[Judi Lynn]

2. Sister-in-law of Paraguay's president and her family missing in condo collapse

United News Team7 hours ago



The sister-in-law of Paraguay’s president and her family are among the 99 people unaccounted for in the deadly partial collapse of a 12-story oceanfront condo building near Miami, officials and reports said Thursday.

Sophia López Moreira, her husband, Luis Pettengill, and the couple’s three children are all missing, as is a sixth Paraguayan national, Lady Luna Villalba, the nation’s foreign affairs ministry said in a statement.

Moreira is the sister of Paraguay’s first lady, Silvana López Moreira, and sister-in-law of President Mario Abdo Benítez, according to the Daily Mail.

Moreira’s family reportedly owned a condo in the tower.

Part of the building in Surfside, Fla. — just north of Miami Beach — abruptly gave way around 1:30 a.m. Thursday, trapping sleeping residents beneath a mountain of rubble.

More:
http://176.252.231.35.bc.googleusercontent.com/news/us-news/sister-in-law-of-paraguays-president-and-her-family-missing-in-condo-collapse/

[Judi Lynn]

3. The husband owns meat processing, slaughterhouse, a soccer club, etc.

Google translation:

Wednesday February 17th | 2021
Made in Py: Frigorífico Guaraní exported more than 19 million kilos of meat in 2020 (now they aim to expand the supply of their food unit)
( By Diego Díaz ) They are suppliers to international chains such as McDonald’s , Burger King , Domino’s , KFC , Mustard and Hard Rock , and 9 out of every 10 hamburgers consumed in Paraguay are from Frigorífico Guaraní . There is no doubt about the positioning of the company, which for this year plans important investments to expand the offer in its food segment.


"“We have a food plant in Itauguá, where we centralize the production of hamburgers, sausages, animal recycling and biodiesel. The factory has a production capacity of 500,000 kilos of sausages and 800,000 kilos of hamburgers per month ”, commented Jorge Jermolieff , head of marketing and brand manager, who clarified that Frigorífico Guaraní divides its operations into three business units: meat production , food production and rendering unit (animal recycling and biodiesel).

Likewise, Jermolieff added that they currently do not export sausages, but are negotiating bacon shipments abroad, while Frigorífico Guaraní's hamburgers are periodically exported to Chile, Uruguay and soon to Taiwan. "We have two hamburger brands, Efege and Guaraní, which represent 90% of the market share nationwide, that is, 9 out of 10 hamburgers eaten in Paraguay are from Frigorífico Guaraní, " he stressed.

On the other hand, the official records of the company indicate that in 2020 the meat unit exported 19,265,121 net kilos and had as main cuts sent the wide steak, butcher roast, shoulder, chingolo, needle, marucha, lever, chest, silver , over rib. Regarding the destinations of the meat, the most important clients were Chile, Israel, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Europe, Brazil, Uruguay, Lebanon, Vietnam and Kuwait.

It should be noted that the production capacity of the meat business unit is 13,000 heads per month and its factory is located on Avenida Santa Teresa in the country's capital. Regarding the performance of the company at the beginning of the year, Jermolieff noted that 2021 started with little movement, however, in the fortnight of January a substantial improvement was achieved in the hamburger and sausage segments.

Among the star products of the food production unit are the barbecue sausage, the Vienna sausage, the hot dogs, the ham and the already consolidated chorizo ​​with cheese or choriqueso. In addition, a proof of the quality of its cuts "is that Frigorífico Guaraní is the official supplier of the most prestigious franchises in the country such as McDonald's , Burger King , Domino’s , KFC , Mustard and Hard Rock, " he added.

When consulting Jermolieff about the high season for the company, he pointed out that demand is characterized by being constant, although a significant increase is noted from October to the beginning of March.

“The company serves nearly 8,000 points of sale through its pre-sale stores located in towns such as Asunción, Gran Asunción, Cordillera, Paraguarí, Caaguazú, Villarrica and the entire Alto Paraná and Itapúa area. Where we do not arrive with the pre-sales system, we arrive with the exclusive distributors of Frigorífico Guaraní ”, he said.

Currently, Frigorífico Guaraní generates around 1,250 jobs, accounting for all the workers of the Itauguá plant, the corporate offices of Blue Tower, the Santa Teresa refrigerator and the distribution centers of Ciudad del Este, Encarnación and Coronel Oviedo.

Frigorífico Guaraní is one of the companies that make up the Pettengill Group and has been present in the market since 1985.

2021 Plans
As main objectives for the year -at least in the food segment- the company plans investments to expand categories and variety of items, for which they are managing the importation of machinery from Germany and the United States.

“From June we will also produce the famous Taco Villa nachos and tortillas, so we bought machines from Mexico to go out strong on the market. Last year the brand was marketed by Frigorífico Guaraní but now we will prepare the food at the Itauguá plant ”, he concluded.

https://infonegocios.com.py/plus/hecho-en-py-frigorifico-guarani-exporto-mas-de-19-millones-de-kilos-de-carne-en-2020-ahora-apuntan-a-ampliar-la-oferta-de-su-unidad-de-alimentos

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Luis Pettengill also was the previous owner of the Cerro Porteño, the Paraguayan soccer club.