Costa Rican to be tried in murder of singer Facundo Cabral

A Guatemalan judge  ordered an alleged Costa Rican drug trafficker to stand trial for the murder of Argentine singer and composer Facundo Cabral.

Fernando Alejandro Jiménez has been charged with ordering an armed attack on July 9, 2011 that claimed the life of Cabral and wounded his Nicaraguan concert promoter Henry Farinas.

Farinas was driving Cabral to the airport when assailants peppered his car with at least 18 bullets, killing Cabral.

Authorities said that Farinas, who is under arrest in Nicaragua on money laundering charges, was the intended target.

Jiménez, who said he is innocent, was deported in March to Guatemala from Colombia where he was arrested after trying to enter the country illegally in a boat with the help of local drug traffickers.

Jiménez also is wanted for drug trafficking by authorities in Costa Rica, where he could be extradited once his trial concludes in Guatemala.