Drug traffickers thrive, branch out in porous paraguay.
| Autor | Gaudin, Andres |
In an episode that seemed to be drawn from a Hollywood script, a powerful Brazilian businessman who was living large in Paraguay while on the lam from authorities in his home country was gunned down June 15 by assailants wielding military-grade weapons.
The attack took place near Paraguay's porous eastern border, where Jorge Rafaat Toumani, a suspected drug trafficker and smuggler, had taken refuge despite being convicted in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul and sentenced to 47 years in jail.
The killers reportedly used an anti-aircraft gun to pierce Rafaat's bulletproof pickup truck multiple times. Police found the powerful machine gun at the scene of the crime, along with ammunition and bulletproof vests presumably left behind by the attackers, the Spanish news agency EFE said.
The case is significant for two reasons: First, as a demonstration that the Brazilian crime war--involving the two leading drug cartels, the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and Comando Vermelho (CV), along with dozens of other criminal groups --is making its way into Paraguayan territory; and second, as a reminder of the deep-seated corruption that exists within Paraguay's armed forces: The government itself admits that the weapons used in the attack were likely taken from the state arsenal and sold by unscrupulous military officials.
Strategic position
Paraguay isn't a major producer or consumer of cocaine and marijuana, but its geographical location has made it a strategic logistical center for drug traffickers. It is also a deeply corrupt country and lacks the infrastructure needed to adequately control the drugs mafias. As a result, the five departments along the eastern border with Brazil--Amambay, Concepcion, San Pedro, Alto Paraguay, and Alto Parana--have become overrun by cartels.
On the other side of the country, in the north, Paraguay has an extensive border with Bolivia, the world's third leading coca grower, with an estimated 20,400 hectares of plantations, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The US Department of State puts the number even higher: 35,000 ha. Brazil is the region's principal consumer of coca base (also known as cocaine paste, the first step in the process of making cocaine powder) and occupies a huge chunk of the continent, with borders that connect it to every South American country except Chile. It's also the country best suited to act as a springboard for drug shipments to the top cocaine...
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