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Paraguay

Paraguay has enjoyed relative stability following its transition to democracy in the early 1990s. However, the nation is the region's largest producer of marijuana and traffics more illegal cigarettes than any country in the Western Hemisphere.

Latest News

Paraguay's New Cabinet Shadowed by Criminal Ties

NEWS / 15 AUG 2023

Paraguay’s new president, Santiago Peña, will face entrenched organized criminal interests, some of which appear to have close ties to members of his own cabinet.  …

Uruguay's Top Trafficker Disappears Yet Again in Bolivia 

NEWS / 31 JUL 2023

Sebastián Marset, a drug trafficker from Uruguay, is on the run after he was found living under a false identity in Bolivia.

DataInSights: Are Pretrial Detentions Fueling Organized Crime in Paraguay?

NEWS / 13 JUL 2023

Listen to this article This audio was generated using text-to-speech software Insecurity is rising in Paraguay, and the government is increasing recruitment opportunities for organized crime groups by jailing thousands…

Paraguay Profile

Criminal Actors

Armed Groups

Sandwiched between Argentina and Brazil, Paraguay’s strategic location allows its criminal actors – who have increasingly relied on rampant corruption – to ship drugs through South America and on to Europe. While the country does not have any homegrown hegemonic criminal organizations, guerrillas from the Paraguayan People’s Army (Ejercito del Pueblo Paraguayo – EPP) continue to test the state’s authority while securing income through extorting rural landowners and kidnapping. Cigarette and other contraband smuggling is rife.

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Personalities

Marcelo Fernando Pinheiro Veiga, alias 'Piloto'

BRAZIL PERSONALITIES / APRIL 13, 2020

Marcelo “Piloto” Pinheiro was considered one of the Brazilian government’s most sought-after drug traffickers until 2017.

Jarvis Chimenes Pavão, alias "The Drug Kingpin"

PARAGUAY / MAY 23, 2019

Brazilian national Jarvis Chimenes Pavão rose to become one of South America’s most prominent drug traffickers and the successor of a line of local capos along the strategic border between…

News

BRAZIL / 15 JUN 2023

From Colima to Caracas, some parts of Latin America have stubbornly high homicide rates, far higher than the rest of their country.

COCAINE EUROPE / 29 MAY 2023

The impeachment of Paraguayan Congressman Erico Galeano for connections to drug trafficking shows progress against impunity in the country.

COCAINE / 5 MAY 2023

Santiago Peña won Sunday’s election for Paraguay’s presidency. But questions remain about how the country’s corruption problems will be solved.

ELITES AND CRIME / 26 APR 2023

Paraguay will hold its presidential elections on April 30. Here, we break down how each candidate will tackle political corruption.

BRAZIL / 11 APR 2023

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

BRAZIL / 10 APR 2023

Authorities have once again destroyed vast amounts of marijuana in Amambay, Paraguay. Why does cultivation continue unimpeded?…

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