HomeNewsParaguay Shown as Key Link in Bolivia-Europe Cocaine Route
NEWS

Paraguay Shown as Key Link in Bolivia-Europe Cocaine Route

COCAINE EUROPE / 11 APR 2023 BY GAVIN VOSS EN

Authorities in South America and Europe have dealt a blow to a trans-Atlantic drug trafficking network in an operation that has underlined Paraguay's importance to the international cocaine trade.

Brazilian police forces arrested 15 people, seized 173 vehicles and a plane, and froze the bank accounts of 147 individuals and 66 companies on March 30, in the culmination of Operation Hinterland, a two-year-long investigation coordinated by Brazilian, Paraguayan, and European law enforcement agencies.

The operation targeted a drug trafficking network that allegedly shipped 17 tons of cocaine from Latin America to Europe. Paraguay's National Anti-Drug Secretariat (Secretaría Nacional Antidrogas - SENAD) captured the network's purported leader, Rodrigo Alvarenga Paredes, in Asunción, and said that arrests were also made in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

In a testament to the trafficking scheme's vast size, Brazilian federal police noted that the total illicit transactions identified in the investigation could reach nearly $760 million. Europol, which supported the operation, described it as "a significant victory for the war on drugs," adding that the dismantled group was "one of Brazil’s most active drug trafficking organizations."

SEE ALSO: Paraguay's Narco-Politics Exposed By Colossal Anti-Drug Operation

The investigation found that the network's cocaine was sourced from Bolivia, where it was then trafficked into Paraguay. From Paraguay, it entered Brazil in trucks through Ponta Porã, a border town in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul.

Once in Brazil, the cocaine was shipped by road to the states of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina, where traffickers stored the product before concealing it in cargo containers and shipping it to Europe.

InSight Crime Analysis

Operation Hinterland, while certainly another blow for regional trafficking interests, is unlikely to fundamentally alter Paraguay's position within the cocaine trade. Still, its magnitude confirms Paraguay's transformation into a vital cocaine highway and the challenges facing law enforcement authorities in the country.

Paraguay's position in South America's cocaine trade has developed rapidly over the last few years. Cocaine produced in Bolivia and Peru frequently enters Paraguay by land and air. From there, it is flown or driven across the border into Brazil, where it reaches ports such as Santos in São Paulo and Paranaguá in Paraná for shipment across the Atlantic.

Cocaine also exits Paraguay by boat through the Paraná-Paraguay waterway, disembarking downriver in Montevideo and Buenos Aires, before being sent to Europe.

Recently, mega operations targeting Paraguay's trafficking routes have become more common. They are frequently successful, yet the problem persists.

In early 2022, South American and European authorities conducted Operation Turf, which took aim at a criminal network involved in at least 8 tons of cocaine shipments reaching Europe after transiting through Paraguay.

Also in early 2022, A Ultranza Py, an operation conducted by Paraguayan authorities, targeted traffickers responsible for 16 tons of cocaine sent to Europe, including one of Europe's largest-ever seizures -- an 11-ton seizure in Antwerp in 2021.

SEE ALSO: Paraguay, Brazil and Dubai Figure into Massive Transatlantic Cocaine Ring

A porous border between Brazil and Paraguay makes moving cocaine between the countries relatively straightforward. Historic cross-border contraband networks have smuggled everything from firearms to cigarettes to produce, and civilians rely heavily on the free movement of goods across the border, making crackdowns difficult.

Additionally, the First Capital Command (Primeiro Comando da Capital – PCC) is entrenched in Pedro Juan Caballero, the Paraguayan city adjacent to Ponta Porã. There, the Brazilian group controls the marijuana and cocaine trade, solidifying its influence with targeted assassinations.

Meanwhile, corruption at the highest levels of Paraguay's government helps stymie law enforcement efforts against drug trafficking.

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 / 25 AUG 2022

Portugal has seized a blizzard of cocaine in recent months, underscoring the country's role as a major drug hub.

BRAZIL / 21 JUN 2022

Sergio Roberto de Carvalho, known as the "Brazilian Pablo Escobar," has been arrested in Hungary.

CHILE / 16 SEP 2022

Chile has recently seized several new psychoactive substances (NPS), highlighting the growing diversity of its drug markets.

About InSight Crime

WORK WITH US

Open Position: Social Media and Engagement Strategist

27 MAY 2023

InSight Crime is looking for a Social Media and Engagement Strategist who will be focused on maintaining and improving InSight Crime’s reputation and interaction with its audiences through publishing activities…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Receives Great Reception

27 MAY 2023

Several of InSight Crime’s most recent articles about Venezuela have been well received by regional media. Our article on Venezuela’s colectivos expanding beyond their political role to control access to…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report Continues

19 MAY 2023

For the second week in a row, our investigation into the flow of precursor chemicals for the manufacture of synthetic drugs in Mexico has been cited by multiple regional media…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Chemical Precursor Report Widely Cited

THE ORGANIZATION / 12 MAY 2023

We are proud to see that our recently published investigation into the supply chain of chemical precursors feeding Mexico’s synthetic drug production has been warmly received.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Paraguay Election Coverage Draws Attention 

5 MAY 2023

InSight Crime looked at the various anti-organized crime policies proposed by the candidates in Paraguay’s presidential election, which was won on April 30 by Santiago Peña. Our pre-election coverage was cited…