RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Paraguayan Public Prosecutor’s Office informed about a cooperation meeting between authorities of investigative agencies of the USA and Brazil on organized crime.
The objective of the meeting would be to strengthen and establish points of inter-institutional cooperation between the international agencies by exchanging information.
In a tweet, the Paraguayan prosecutor Marcelo Pecci mentioned that this meeting is intended to strengthen joint strategies in the fight against transnational organized crime. Meanwhile, Paraguayan authorities reaffirmed their fight against this evil.
Both the United States and Brazil showed their concern and sent their security representatives to the allegations made by the Paraguayan Minister of the Interior, Arnaldo Giuzzio, about an alleged money laundering and cigarette smuggling scheme linked to former President Horacio Cartes.
In this context, Giuzzio already held meetings in Foz do Iguaçú, Brazil, with Brazilian authorities and another one on Wednesday, February 16, in Asunción.
João Luiz Caetano de Araujo, General Coordinator for the Repression of Drug Trafficking, Arms Trafficking, Combating Criminal Factions, Robbery, and Violent Crimes, accompanied by the Brazilian Federal Police attachés, Richard Murad and Alexandre Cristovão, met with Giuzzio in the last meeting.
The meeting was held at the headquarters of the Ministry of the Interior, and on behalf of Paraguay, in addition to Giuzzio, Emilio Fuster, head of the Interinstitutional Unit for the Prevention, Combat, and Repression of Smuggling (UIC) was also present.
At the end of the meeting, Giuzzio said that he could not give many details of what was discussed but revealed that progress is being made in creating a bipartite command to carry out joint operations, mainly in the border area.
The authorities confirmed the installation of bases, in a first stage, in Ponta Porã (Brazil) and Pedro Juan Caballero (Paraguay). Given this situation, more presence of both police forces is foreseen in Salto del Guairá (Paraguay) and Guaíra (Brazil).
Likewise, the interest in cigarette smuggling was reported, for which Giuzzio was asked for information on the so-called “operation Michel Jackson”, which describes a money laundering structure and with it, to evaluate a possible investigation in Brazil of former president Horacio Cartes.