HomeNewsBriefParaguay Security Forces in Disarray Amid Guerrilla Attacks
BRIEF

Paraguay Security Forces in Disarray Amid Guerrilla Attacks

EPP / 1 SEP 2015 BY ARRON DAUGHERTY EN

There are increasing signs that Paraguay's security forces are in upheaval, enabling a small guerrilla group to carry out high-profile kidnappings and attacks on infrastructure.  

On August 31, the then-spokesperson of Paraguay's Joint Task Force (FTC), Alfredo Jonas Ramirez Acosta, told local media that elements within the FTC were passing security information to the Paraguayan People's Army (EPP).

"We can't have the element of surprise if we're also giving warning to [the EPP]," Ramirez said of the FTC, a joint police and military unit tasked with combating guerrillas.

Later that same day, Ramirez was removed from his post, reported Ultima Hora. In follow-up comments to the press, Ramirez reaffirmed his initial claims of corruption within the security forces but rejected reports that his statements alluded to Paraguay's police.

The upheaval at the FTC comes shortly after an EPP bombing destroyed an electricity pylon, leaving roughly 750,000 Paraguayans without electricity. 

"This won't be the last tower to fall," Ramirez said, while still serving as the active spokesperson of the FTC. Ramirez added that the FTC lacks the resources and personnel to anticipate guerrilla attacks, according to ABC Color.

InSight Crime Analysis  

While Ramirez's claims have yet to be verified, they speak to ongoing issues of corruption within Paraguay's security forces. 

In May, National Police Commander Francisco Alvarenga and other officers were charged in connection to a fuel embezzlement scandal. Police are also suspected of being responsible for the disappearance of 252 kilos of confiscated cocaine and of running a regional marijuana trafficking network. Earlier this year, a military captain was charged with heading a drug trafficking ring

SEE ALSO: Coverage of Paraguay

The EPP seem to be taking full advantage of this corruption and disarray. Despite their small size, the EPP continue to create havoc for Paraguayan security officials. The guerrilla group has carried out a number of high-profile kidnappings in recent years, and have held a Mennonite settler hostage for the past three weeks.

Although authorities have often characterized the EPP as being motivated purely by criminal profits, the recent electricity pylon bombing suggests otherwise. The attack bears resemblance to those carried out by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) as part of their revolutionary war against the state in Colombia. InSight Crime has previously collected evidence that the FARC have sent representatives to Paraguay in order to train EPP guerrillas.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

BRAZIL / 8 SEP 2022

Brazil's largest gang, the PCC, could be trying to take over the marijuana business in neighboring Paraguay.

BRAZIL / 15 DEC 2021

A recent study of credit card cloning around the world revealed some startling disparities in the risks customers face across…

COCAINE / 12 JAN 2022

The son of a former Paraguayan congressman has been accused of overseeing large cocaine shipments to Europe, illustrating how corrupt…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted

3 MAR 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-director Jeremy McDermott was the featured guest on the Americas Quarterly podcast, where he provided an expert overview of the changing dynamics…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 Attracts Attention

24 FEB 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published its ranking of Venezuela’s ten organized crime groups to accompany the launch of the Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory. Read…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime on El País Podcast

10 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-founder, Jeremy McDermott, was among experts featured in an El País podcast on the progress of Colombia’s nascent peace process.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press

3 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by the Associated Press on developments in Haiti as the country continues its prolonged collapse. McDermott’s words were republished around the world,…

THE ORGANIZATION

Escaping Barrio 18

27 JAN 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published an investigation charting the story of Desafío, a 28-year-old Barrio 18 gang member who is desperate to escape gang life. But there’s one problem: he’s…