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Paraguayan Prosecutor’s Office charges military for arms trafficking

Photo: @MinPublicoPy

December 7 |

Paraguay’s Public Prosecutor’s Office on Wednesday indicted high-ranking military officers as part of an international arms trafficking network, impacted by the so-called Dakobo operation.

“Jorge Antonio Orue Roa was indicted for influence peddling, while Colonel Bienvenido Santiago Fretes González was indicted for aggravated passive bribery and criminal association, and General Arturo Javier González Ocampo was indicted for influence peddling and criminal association,” the report of the Attorney General’s Office said.

Likewise, the detainees María Mercedes Ocampos, Eliane Marengo, Manuel Antonio Gómez, Arnaldo Cubas, Ángel Flecha, Aldo Cantero, Ricardo Morra, Julio Cubas, Josefina Cuevas and Cinthia Turro have been requested for extradition to Brazil.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office specified that the accused are part of an international network that trafficked arms and ammunition from Europe to South America, and the operation resulted in six arrests in synchronized inspections carried out in the Central and Alto Paraná departments (central-eastern region).

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The accused remain at the disposal of the judge of Guarantees, Lici Sánchez, and another 10 await extradition to Brazil, whose Federal Police opened the criminal process.

The defendants face charges of illicit arms trafficking, related punishable acts of the Weapons Law (attempt, complicity, organization, direction, aiding, abetting, facilitating, financing, advising), alteration of data, criminal association and false denunciation.

As part of Operation Dakovo, authorities from Paraguay, Brazil and the United States deployed synchronized searches on December 5 to break up one of the most significant international arms trafficking schemes in the region.

The information showed that the Argentine Diego Dirisio and his wife, Julieta Nardi, were the leaders of the trafficking scheme from the company Internacional Auto Suply, based in Asunción, capital of Paraguay, and imported a multitude of weapons and ammunition from manufacturers in Croatia, Turkey, Czech Republic and Slovenia.

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Paraguay summons Brazilian ambassador over Itaipú espionage scandal

Paraguay summoned the Brazilian ambassador in Asunción on Tuesday to demand “explanations” and called its own representative in Brasília for consultations following Brazil’s acknowledgment of an espionage operation. The Brazilian government, led by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, attributed the operation to the previous administration.

The surveillance effort aimed to uncover Paraguay’s position in now-suspended negotiations with Brazil regarding the pricing of electricity from the binational Itaipú hydroelectric plant, according to reports in the Brazilian press.

The Brazilian government “categorically denied any involvement in the intelligence operation,” stating in a Foreign Ministry communiqué on Monday that the espionage was carried out under former President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration (2019-2023).

“The operation was authorized by the previous government in June 2022 and was annulled by the interim director of the (state intelligence agency) ABIN on March 27, 2023, as soon as the current administration became aware of it,” Brazil’s government asserted.

Paraguay’s Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez announced that Brazilian Ambassador José Antonio Marcondes de Carvalho was summoned “to provide detailed explanations” regarding the operation. Additionally, Paraguay recalled its diplomatic representative in Brasília “to report on aspects related to the intelligence activity conducted by Brazil regarding Paraguay’s government affairs.”

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Citing three individuals close to Trump, Politico states that the president is pleased with Musk’s leadership at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), where he has implemented significant budget cuts. However, both have agreed that it is time for Musk to return to his businesses and support Trump from a different position outside the government.

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