PARAGUAY'S LEFTIST PATRIA LIBRE ACCUSED OF KILLING

C O N F I D E N T I A L ASUNCION 000149 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR DS/IP/WHA AND DS/DSS/ITA STATE PASS TO USAID LAC/AA POSTS FOR RSO NSC FOR SUE CRONIN SOUTHCOM FOR POLAD BARBARA MOORE NAIROBI FOR MICHAEL FITZPATRICK E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/09/2016 TAGS: PTER PINR PGOV ASEC KCRM PA CO CU VE SUBJECT: PARAGUAY'S LEFTIST PATRIA LIBRE ACCUSED OF KILLING POLICEMAN REF: A. ASUNCION 1329 AND PRECEDING ¶B. ASUNCION 1101 Classified By: PolOff Mark A. Stamilio, reasons 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: On February 6, an undercover Paraguayan National Police officer was shot and killed by automatic gunfire in an ambush in the Department of Concepcion. The leftist Patria Libre Party (PPL) is accused of the killing in retaliation for the February 5 arrests of several relatives and associates of PPL members involved in two high-profile kidnappings (ref A). The individuals arrested on February 5 were driving a truck loaded with explosives, ammunition, equipment, and supplies. PPL members are believed to have been responsible for a similar murder in August (ref B). In a February 8 press conference, the Attorney General referred to the group of 20-30 militants as "guerrillas" and opined that they had strong ties to the FARC. President Duarte deployed a contingent of military personnel to the area to support police in the search for the assailants. Given drug smuggling and other crime in this remote area, multiple motives for the killing are possible. However, the arrests and explosives found show the PPL remains dangerous. End Summary. ¶2. (U) On February 6, unidentified assailants shot and killed a Paraguayan National Police officer near a campesino settlement in the Department of Concepcion, approximately 250 miles north of Asuncion. The officer was essentially ambushed, and reportedly was hit by 27 rounds of 9mm ammunition fired from an automatic Uzi pistol. The officer's motorcycle was burned and abandoned approximately 4 miles from where he was killed. The officer was dressed in plain clothes when he was attacked. According to press reports, he had infiltrated the settlement, but his cover was blown as a result of the February 5 arrests. ¶3. (U) On February 5, near the same campesino settlement, Paraguayan authorities arrested six individuals who were driving a truck loaded with explosives, ammunition, equipment, and supplies. One of the six, Pablo Roman Cristaldo Mieres, is a relative of Manuel Cristaldo Mieres, a PPL suspect in the 2003 kidnapping and murder of Cecilia Cubas (ref A); two others, Viviana Elizabeth Villalba Ayala and Maria Rosa Villalba Ayala, are relatives of Carmen Villalba, a PPL member involved in the 2001 kidnapping of Maria Edith Bordon de Debernardi (ref A). The six suspects denied any knowledge that there were explosives in the truck. The truck belongs to a Brazilian national, but bore license plates issued to the Northern Campesino Organization (OCN),a small campesino organization based in northern San Pedro Department and Concepcion. ¶4. (U) In August, there were unconfirmed reports that PPL members with ties to the Cubas case were responsible for the similar murder of a Paraguayan National Police officer in the Department of Canindeyu (ref B). Paraguayan authorities pursued those assailants on foot through the woods for several days, but never captured them. Police did find a rudimentary firing range. The suspects fled Canindeyu in the general direction of Concepcion. Authorities believe the assailants in the present case are connected to the assailants in the earlier case. ¶5. (U) In a February 8 press conference, Attorney General Ruben Candia referred to the militants responsible for the two murders as "guerrillas" and opined that they had strong ties to the FARC. The Public Ministry's Chief of Order and Security, Oscar Leiva, added that the militants received training in Colombia, Cuba, and Venezuela. One of the prosecutors investigating the latest murder, Rogelio Ortuzar, estimates that 20-30 militants are hiding in the woods in Concepcion, armed and trained for "guerrilla warfare." ¶6. (U) On February 8, President Duarte deployed a contingent of 100 military personnel to Concepcion (in addition to 80 troops permanently assigned to the Department),along with an Air Force transport plane and two reconnaissance aircraft. The President deployed the military to protect and support 150 Paraguayan National Police officers in the search for the assailants. ¶7. (C) A DEA contact in SENAD reports that the dead policeman frequently interfered in anti-narcotics operations. The DEA source speculated that issues between PPL members and traffickers, rather than retaliation for the PPL arrests, could be the motive. ¶8. (SBU) Comment: As noted in ref B, there has long been speculation about possible training camps for insurgent elements in the Paraguayan countryside, supported in part by the FARC. A number of PPL members are known to have received FARC training. The contents of the truck seized on February 5 indicate that the PPL members suspected in the February 6 murder are among those who received FARC training. Among the items seized were at least 5 kilos of explosive powder and chemicals, 50 plastic explosive tubes, detonators, detonator cord, walkie-talkies, and non-perishable food stocks. While this is a significant cache, it is consistent with caches recovered in past raids on PPL members. Due to the remoteness of the area, the prevalence of narcotics, and other criminal elements in the area, police collusion with criminals and lack of resources will make it difficult to apprehend the suspects. CASON