Members of the Paraguayan National Anti-Drug Secretariat (SENAD, in Spanish) and the Brazilian Federal Police (PF, in Portuguese) destroyed 494.6 tons of marijuana during Operation New Alliance (Operación Nueva Alianza) XXIII, which ended on November 13, 2020.
With the support of two PF helicopters, SENAD agents operated in forest areas in Amambay department for 10 days, where they destroyed narcotraffickers’ operating bases.
“We destroyed 137 hectares of marijuana crops, 83.6 tons of processed marijuana, and 100 kilograms of pressed marijuana,” SENAD reported in a statement. “We also eliminated 116 drug camps.”
Paraguay’s Office of the Attorney General supported the operation, along with the Joint Task Force, consisting of troops of the Armed Forces, Paraguayan National Police personnel, and SENAD civilian agents.
The press has described Pedro Juan Caballero, capital of Amambay that borders the Brazilian city of Punta Porá, as the capital of narcotrafficking in South America.
In that location, criminal groups contest the trafficking routes for Paraguayan marijuana and cocaine coming from Peru and Bolivia.
On November 20, the Brazilian Ambassador in Asunción Flavio Soares Damico visited the SENAD operating base to discuss the results of this 23rd phase of Operation New Alliance.
“Together with [SENAD] Minister Arnaldo Giuzzio, they discussed the need to strengthen actions between Paraguay and Brazil in the fight against organized crime,” SENAD reported.
On November 19, narcotics agents dismantled another structure used in narcotrafficking. “We detected a clandestine airstrip in Bahía Negra, Alto Paraguay,” SENAD reported.
“We reached a rural location where we found a landing strip that could be used for narco-flights from Bolivia,” the force said. “The airstrip will be destroyed shortly.”
