International Narcotics Control Strategy Report
Volume I: Drug and Chemical Control
Paraguay
I. Summary
In 2008, the Government of Paraguay, through its National Anti-drug Secretariat (SENAD), continued its efforts against illegal narcotics trafficking. SENAD seized locally-grown marijuana and Andean cocaine which transits Paraguay en route to Brazil and other Southern Cone countries. With renewed political support from the new Lugo administration, which ended 61 years of Colorado Party rule, SENAD captured drug traffickers linked to Brazilian drug trafficking organizations and made important inroads into fighting new threats posed by international ephedrine trafficking. The new Lugo Government has expressed interest in reversing Paraguay's status as a major drug transit country. Paraguay is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.
II. Status of Country
Paraguay is the largest producer of marijuana in South America, and its marijuana, which has high tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content, is cultivated throughout the country. Marijuana in Paraguay is primarily trafficked for consumption in neighboring countries, and is not trafficked to the United States. Paraguay remains a major transit country for Andean-sourced cocaine destined primarily for Brazil, other Southern Cone markets, Europe, and Africa. The extensive land border with Brazil facilitates many types of illicit activities, including drug trafficking. Endemic public corruption in Paraguay, along with limited government controls, is a contributing factor to Paraguay's standing as a major drug transit country. Despite SENAD's efforts, the GOP's ability to fight narcotics trafficking is hampered by budget constraints, weak laws, and pervasive corruption.
III. Country Actions against Drugs
Policy Initiatives. President Fernando Lugo, who assumed office August 15, named Retired Police Commissioner Cesar Damian Aquino as the new SENAD director. President Lugo pledged during his campaign to fight narcotics, corruption and other illicit activities in Paraguay.
In August, Director Aquino reorganized SENAD to improve the institution's efficiency, naming a single Director of Operations to eliminate potential conflicts in a chain-of-command containing multiple directorships with equal authority. SENAD focused its efforts on major drug trafficking organizations and their assets. SENAD was dealt a major setback, however, when the Senate rejected a bill that would have made SENAD an autonomous institution with the power to regulate its agents independently. The measure had passed the Chamber of Deputies. Currently, SENAD officials are considered civil servants, rather than law enforcement agents, and are not issued weapons, though many carry personal weapons. The rejected legislation would have given SENAD agents the legal status of law enforcement agents. SENAD worked to professionalize its agents through training, but was unsuccessful in its efforts to augment the current SENAD force of 165 agents by an additional 30 recruits.
Law Enforcement Efforts. In 2008, SENAD seized a record 172 metric tons (MT) of marijuana. Cocaine seizures were substantially lower than previous years at 277 kilograms (kg).
SENAD arrested 419 persons, including several well-known Brazilian drug traffickers from the Commando Vermelho and First Commando Capital (PCC) drug trafficking organizations. SENAD expelled 17 individuals and facilitated the extradition of two persons to Brazil and one to Argentina.
Paraguayan authorities reported a new trend in ephedrine trafficking from South America through Paraguay to Mexico where it is reportedly processed into methamphetamine destined for the US market. This year, SENAD seized 127.36 kg of ephedrine, including the detention of a Mexican national in possession of 45 kg of ephedrine.
In the last year SENAD conducted a series of marijuana eradication operations in the departments of Amambay and Canindeyu, destroying 1,724 hectares of marijuana with an estimated weight of over five million kilograms.
Corruption. As a matter of policy, neither GOP policy nor senior GOP officials encourage or facilitate the illicit production or distribution of narcotic or psychotropic drugs or other controlled substances, or the laundering of proceeds from illegal drug transactions. Nevertheless, corruption and inefficiency within the Paraguayan National Police (PNP), the broader judicial system, and other public sector institutions negatively impact SENAD operations. Combating official corruption remains a daunting challenge for the GOP, but the Lugo administration has already brought several corruption cases against public officials.
Agreements and Treaties. Paraguay is a party to the UN 1988 Drug Convention, the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs as amended by the 1972 Protocol, and the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances. The GOP is also a party to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its two protocols (Trafficking in Persons and Migrant Smuggling), the UN Convention against Corruption, the Inter-American Convention against Trafficking in Illegal Firearms, the Inter-American Convention against Corruption and the Inter-American Convention against Terrorism. The GOP also signed the OAS/CICAD Hemispheric Drug Strategy. Paraguay has law enforcement agreements with Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Venezuela, and Colombia. An extradition treaty between the United States and Paraguay is in force and the 1987 bilateral letter of agreement under which the United States provides counter-narcotics assistance to Paraguay was extended in 2008. Paraguay is also a signatory to the 1992 Inter-American Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters.
Cultivation/Production. The UN estimates that Paraguay produces 5,900 MT of marijuana per year -- more than half the marijuana grown annually in all of South America. The crop is primarily cultivated in the departments of Amambay, San Pedro, Canindeyu and Concepcion and harvested year-round. Marijuana production has dramatically increased in recent years, spreading to nontraditional rural areas of the country. There are approximately 6,000 hectares under cultivation throughout the country, according to UN and SENAD estimates.
Drug Flow/Transit. Paraguay continues to be a major transit country for cocaine from Bolivia, Peru, and Colombia. Only a small portion of the cocaine that transits Paraguay is destined for the United States. According to SENAD, traffickers are encouraged by the lack of controls along Paraguay's vast, porous border. Every year, 30-40 MT of cocaine are transshipped to Brazil and other Southern Cone markets, as well as to Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. The northwestern part of the country is poorly monitored, making that region an attractive staging area for transshipments of drugs, weapons, and other contraband. Paraguayan authorities report a new trend in ephedrine trafficking from South America to Mexico and the United States.
Domestic Programs/Demand Reduction. SENAD's drug prevention program includes educational workshops for Paraguayan children. SENAD has the principal coordinating role under the "National Program against Drug Abuse" and works with the Ministries of Education and Health and several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on program development, implementation and dissemination. The USG supports SENAD's limited budget for demand reduction and its program has been concentrated in central Paraguay. A pilot prevention program introduced in 2007 in Pedro Juan Caballero has helped SENAD expand its drug abuse prevention program, and the Lugo government has expressed intent in further expansion. During the current school year SENAD sponsored 425 workshops, directly reaching 10,617 students, parents, and teachers. SENAD also distributed 1,741 informational pamphlets to teachers and counselors during workshops.
IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives And Programs
Bilateral Cooperation. Working with the GOP, USG programs and policies in Paraguay focus on disrupting drug trafficking organizations and instituting stronger legal and regulatory measures to combat drug trafficking and money laundering. The GOP uses U.S. assistance to support SENAD's operations, including its base of operations in Pedro Juan Caballero and its canine program. U.S. assistance also provides support for SENAD operations in the northwestern town of Mariscal Estigarribia. The USG funded the participation of 50 new SENAD agents in a Basic Drug Enforcement Training Seminar which taught the knowledge and skills required to identify drug traffickers, to initiate and to develop investigations. The USG funded a five-week Sensitive Investigative Unit (SIU) program in Quantico, Virginia which trains DEA foreign counterparts to work on sensitive bilateral investigations. SENAD is one of only a dozen foreign counterpart agencies to obtain this training. The USG provided operational support and equipment to Paraguay's intellectual property operational unit (UTE), as well as training seminars on intellectual property issues. The USG continued to provide a Resident Legal Advisor (RLA) to assist GOP efforts to pass and implement effective laws to combat money laundering, intellectual property theft, and terrorist financing.
The Road Ahead. The new Lugo administration has expressed interest in reversing Paraguay's status as a major drug transit country and as the largest producer of marijuana in South America. To do so, the GOP must focus its efforts on major narcotics trafficking organizations operating in Paraguay. The USG encourages the Lugo administration to allocate additional resources to law enforcement agencies and implement legal tools to facilitate investigations, the seizure and forfeiture of assets and prosecution of major offenders. New anti-money laundering legislation will take effect July 16, 2009, and will provide an important tool for law enforcement agencies. The GOP also needs to draft asset seizure and forfeiture laws, pass the new criminal procedure code pending before Congress, and implement in 2009 the new penal code signed into law in 2008.