Why Bolivia’s drug planes are choosing Paraguay as a destination

In the last four years, Paraguayan authorities have seized seven Bolivian drug planes that had landed in the country with several kilos of cocaine.

In fact, in the few days that elapsed in 2023, two light aircraft have already been seized in Paraguay within twelve days of each other (January 17 and 29).

In the first of the two cases this year, a Bolivian light aircraft was seized by Paraguayan authorities in the Misiones area with 420 kilos of cocaine.

Police arrested six people, including two Bolivians: former BoA pilot Raúl Álvaro Guzmán Cortez and Stephano Alavconi Quezada.

On Sunday (29), an operation was carried out in Alto Paraná, 20 kilometers from Brazil, where a white Cessna aircraft with red stripes carrying 265 kilos of cocaine was intercepted.

Bolivian pilot Lucio Alfonso Paz Fernández and Peruvian citizen Elmer Enrique Figueroa Paredes were arrested in operation.

WHY BOLIVIAN DRUG PLANES CHOOSE PARAGUAY

In an article published by the Bolivian website Página Siete, retired military officer Jorge Santistevan explains why many Bolivian drug traffickers choose to develop their operations in Paraguay.

Santistevan highlighted three fundamental aspects:

“The most important factor is the opportunity for the business (drug trafficking) in Paraguay, which there is not in Brazil and Argentina, where there is more control.”

“The second factor is that Paraguay’s border and airspace are more unprotected as they do not have radars.”

“The third is the time it takes to fly from Bolivia to Paraguay. In less than 30 minutes, you arrive and cross the border; that is why that country is the preferred or chosen destination to distribute drugs from there”.

On the other hand, retired military officer Santistevan pointed out that although Bolivia has radars, they have not yet been installed.

In the same Página Siete article, Jairo Guiteras, deputy of Comunidad Ciudadana, considers that the proximity between Bolivia and Paraguay makes the latter country a “strategic place for illicit drug trafficking”.

With information from Bloomberg