HomeNewsBriefWidespread Police Bribery Network in Paraguay Marijuana Hub
BRIEF

Widespread Police Bribery Network in Paraguay Marijuana Hub

ELITES AND CRIME / 6 JAN 2015 BY KYRA GURNEY EN

An investigation in Paraguay has exposed widespread, systematic police corruption in a major marijuana-growing region on the border with Brazil, highlighting the institutionalized corruption that facilitates drug trafficking in South America's largest producer of marijuana.

According to a probe into police corruption viewed by ABC Color, police officers in Paraguay's Canindeyu province regularly accept bribes from drug traffickers, and are expected to pay monthly quotas to their superiors, including "political authorities" in the province, in order to remain at their posts. ABC Color did not report on whether this probe was an internal police investigation or an inquiry by some other government institution.

According to the newspaper, the amounts police must pay to their superiors vary depending on the location of the police unit in relation to profitable drug trafficking routes, ranging from around $84 a month in the center of the province to $1,267 on the border with Brazil (see ABC Color's map of police stations in Canindeyu -- and what bribes they pay to their superiors -- below).

2015.01.06.paraguaybribemap

Senator Luis Alberto Wagner, who serves on the congressional commission created to investigate the recent assassination of a journalist covering the drug trade, told a radio station that Canindeyu's corrupt police are protected by the judiciary and politicians -- specifically, Congresswoman Maria Cristina Villalba, who represents the province in the lower house of Congress, and her brother Carlos.

Three days after ABC Color first reported on this network of corruption, the Canindeyu province police chief ordered at least ten personnel changes in key police posts.

InSight Crime Analysis

The bribery network exposed by ABC Color highlights the type of institutionalized corruption that has facilitated drug trafficking in Paraguay and allowed criminal organizations to act with impunity.

The assassination of journalist Pablo Medina, which took place in Canindeyu province and was allegedly ordered by a local mayor because of Medina's reporting on drug trafficking, has led to increased scrutiny on alleged ties between officials and criminal groups. Since Medina's death, both Paraguay's Senate and the head of the country's anti-drug body (SENAD) have voiced concerns about official corruption.

SEE ALSO: Coverage of Paraguay

In addition to Congresswoman Villalba, who is accused of running a network that protects drug traffickers and assassins, three congressmen have recently been linked to Brazilian drug trafficking groups, while one congressional alternate has been identified as the alleged right-hand man of Brazilian drug trafficker Luiz Carlos da Rocha, alias "Cabeça Branca."

The corruption appears to stretch far beyond Paraguay's Congress. In 2013, judges in Paraguay's Triple Frontier region were accused of giving drug traffickers lenient sentences, while last year, several high-level police officials were accused of selling seized drugs and weapons

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

ELITES AND CRIME / 22 SEP 2022

Corruption and a lack of traceability allow military munitions to flow into the hands of criminals in Paraguay.

CARIBBEAN / 30 APR 2022

The arrest of a sitting head of government on drug trafficking charges is almost unheard of.

BRAZIL / 11 APR 2023

Operation Hinterland is one of many crackdowns undertaken by authorities recently, showing that Paraguay's cocaine connection remains strong.

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Contributes Expertise Across the Board 

22 SEP 2023

This week InSight Crime investigators Sara García and María Fernanda Ramírez led a discussion of the challenges posed by Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s “Total Peace” plan within urban contexts. The…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Cited in New Colombia Drug Policy Plan

15 SEP 2023

InSight Crime’s work on emerging coca cultivation in Honduras, Guatemala, and Venezuela was cited in the Colombian government’s…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Discusses Honduran Women's Prison Investigation

8 SEP 2023

Investigators Victoria Dittmar and María Fernanda Ramírez discussed InSight Crime’s recent investigation of a massacre in Honduras’ only women’s prison in a Twitter Spaces event on…

THE ORGANIZATION

Human Trafficking Investigation Published in Leading Mexican Newspaper

1 SEP 2023

Leading Mexican media outlet El Universal featured our most recent investigation, “The Geography of Human Trafficking on the US-Mexico Border,” on the front page of its August 30…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Coverage of Ecuador Leads International Debate

25 AUG 2023

This week, Jeremy McDermott, co-director of InSight Crime, was interviewed by La Sexta, a Spanish television channel, about the situation of extreme violence and insecurity in Ecuador…