1,700kg of cocaine seized near Brazil border; suspected members of EPP captured; Unasur to publish a report on Paraguay on 29 November
1,700 kg of cocaine seized near Brazil border
On 10 November, 20 people were arrested at a ranch in Salto de Guiará in the Canindeyú province near the Brazilian border, following a drugs raid which intercepted the attempted trafficking of 1,700kg of cocaine.
The news was confirmed by Francisco de Vargas, Minister of the anti- drugs Secretariat (Senad).
The 20 detainees, who were of Paraguayan, Bolivian and Brazilian nationality, conceded that the drugs had been en route to an air strip where they were to be transported by air to neighbouring Brazil and other surrounding countries. This led to the discovery of an unauthorised landing strip in Canindeyú, five small planes and various arms.
Amongst those detained were the Bolivian drug lord Marco Antonio Rocca, alias ‘El Presi’, and one of Paraguay’s most wanted men, Ezequiel de Souza. A local policeman was also arrested in connection with the operation.
The raid marked the largest drugs raid undertaken in Paraguay this year, with the involvement of over 40 national security agents.
‘This government, like no other in Paraguay’s history, has an unrestricted and irrefutable commitment to combating drugs trafficking’, said President Federico Franco. He concluded that the country ‘will become known abroad as a sovereign nation, not as a drug-trafficking country’.
The news was followed by the removal of two senior officials from the national police force on 12 November. According to police chief Aldo Pastore, both the local police chief in Canindeyú and the Head of Order and Security in the province have since been relieved of their positions.
He added that an investigation into all police staff operating in the province was under way. ‘This command will not cover up any police officer implicated in any criminal act’, he said.
Paraguay’s porous borders and irregular immigration controls make it a particularly common path for drugs trafficking routes. The search continues for further drug depositories which Senad believe to be in the surrounding area.
Police capture suspect linked to EPP in San Pedro
On 16 November, police in Tacuatí, a town in the northern province of San Pedro, detained two men suspected of being linked to the Paraguayan guerilla group known as the Ejercito del Pueblo Paraguayo (Paraguayan People’s Army- EPP).
The dissident terrorist group have been linked with multiple kidnaps, murders and incidents of violence, particularly in the surrounding areas of the northern city Concepción.
According to a press release from the district attorney, the detained men were named as brothers Germán Duarte Borja and José Duarte Borja. The brothers were both under capture orders following their alleged involvement in a murder in Horqueta in 2002. Germán was also wanted for the attempted kidnapping of the Brazilian Rudy Paezold in Juaguareté Forest last May.
The capture of the brothers was led by the anti-kidnap district attorney, Federico Delfino.
They were later transported to Concepción where they will be processed for their alleged crimes.
Unasur to publish findings on Paraguay’s political crisis on 29 November
On 15 November, President of the high level group of the Union of South American Nations (Unasur), Salomón Lerner, announced that a report regarding Paraguay’s political situation, undertaken by representatives of the organisation, will be presented on 29 November.
Lerner said that Unasur had been undertaking an investigation over the past four months, since the impeachment of former President Fernando Lugo on 22 June which led to the country’s suspension from the organisation.
The report has been compiled using information received from unions, business leaders, political organisations and from the human rights division of the Institute of Public Policies.
Lerner confirmed that the organisation felt confident that the political system in Paraguay would be capable of carrying out the electoral process ‘in a normal way’ in April 2013.
