“Paraguay takes on the features of a narco-state,” headlines the country’s largest newspaper

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – ABC Color, Paraguay’s leading newspaper, published an editorial Tuesday stating that the country is “taking on characteristics of a narco-state” after counting 28 murders by hired killers in the first month of the year, the latest at the Ja’umina Fest music festival attended by thousands last Sunday.

“The population is no longer safe anywhere because innocent people, including children, have been victims of settlements between criminals, especially those involved in drug trafficking, as is happening now in San Bernardino.

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“This summer resort par excellence in our country, the most traditional, is the favorite place for families to spend the hot summer. Thousands of young people parade the streets in joyous crowds day and night, and it was inconceivable that the peace could be violently disturbed by members of organized crime to settle their disputes. But this incident brings home to us the terrible reality: drug trafficking has not only permeated the structure of the state, as acknowledged by high government officials but has spread throughout the territory, far beyond the traditional areas of violence, such as Alto Paraná and Amambay,” begins the editorial in the Paraguayan newspaper.

“On the same day, a mother and her son were murdered in the city of Ypané, apparently at the hands of the famous “Rotela clan” dedicated to drug trafficking. The wars between criminal organizations show that the police have not been able to maintain public order for several years,” the statement continued, referring to other murders in recent years in different parts of the country.

“If the war continues throughout the country, it is because its protagonists have no reason to fear that the forces of law and order will intervene decisively to put a stop to their excesses. How could they, when the gangsters have infiltrated them? The President of the Republic himself, Mario Abdo Benitez, said it in October 2020, without much consequence: “There is a great permeability; organized crime penetrates different institutions; we must improve our control systems.”

Documents compare the numbers of drugs seized in the country with those arriving in Europe from Paraguay: “The authorities often provide data to justify an increase in drug seizures in our country, but these are tiny compared to those seized in European ports from Paraguay. Incidentally, since June 2020, 36,000 kilos of cocaine shipped in Paraguay have been seized in Europe, while the PN has only been able to prevent the export of 4,824 kilos in the same period.”

“Paraguay is a large producer of marijuana, with Brazil and Argentina being the main markets,” Senad said. For the inhabitants of some small communities in the south of the country, it is no secret what certain local personalities are doing. Likely, the authorities who are supposed to fight drug trafficking are also unaware of it,” he continues.

“Paraguay already has all the characteristics of a narco-state, because no one dares to clean up the places infected by the mafia, who do not hesitate to spill blood, even in a place where there are about 200 police officers who do not control the entry of the public, although the arrival of the “border crossers” was already known. At this rate, there is little room for optimism than to think about wearing bulletproof vests even at social events.