FORMER PPL MEMBERS ANNOUNCE EXISTENCE OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L ASUNCION 000181

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR DS/DSS/ITA, DS/IP/WHA, AND WHA/BSC KBEAMER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2028
TAGS: PTER ASEC PINS PA
SUBJECT: FORMER PPL MEMBERS ANNOUNCE EXISTENCE OF
PARAGUAYAN PEOPLE'S ARMY

Classified By: DCM Michael J. Fitzpatrick for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Former Free Fatherland Party (PPL) members
announced March 17 the existence of the Paraguayan People's
Army (EPP),an armed revolutionary group operating in
Concepcion Department. Their comments followed a March 12
incident in which the EPP claimed responsibility for
vandalizing a ranch in Concepcion. PPL members claimed that
former PPL members formed the group in February 2006 to fight
government injustice and end 60-plus years of Colorado rule;
however, Horqueta police told RSO that the Concepcion
incident most likely stemmed from a local property dispute.
EPP "spokesperson" Carmen Villalba claimed not to know
presidential candidate Fernando Lugo (accused by the Colorado
Party of ties to the PPL). The EPP appears to represent the
early beginnings of a reincarnated if small PPL threatening
future armed action should the Colorados not cede power after
April's presidential elections. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) The previously unknown EPP, or Ejercito del Pueblo
Paraguayo, claimed responsibility for vandalizing March 12
over USD 400,000 in farm equipment owned by Brazilian ranch
owner Nabor Both in Horqueta, Concepcion Department. The
perpetrators left a pamphlet with the inscription,
"Paraguayan People's Army, German Aguayo Command -- land to
the campesinos -- whoever kills with agrotoxins will pay in
this manner." A police report indicated that four or five
people were involved. Police have not named any suspects in
connection with the case; police told RSO March 18 that they
believe the attacks on Both's property stemmed from a local
property dispute.


3. (C) Carmen Villalba, who is serving a 18-year prison
sentence at Good Shepherd Women's Prison for the November
2001 kidnapping of Maria Edith Bordon de Debernardi, stated
in a March 17 Telefuturo interview that revolutionaries
formed the avowedly "Marxist-Leninist" EPP to fight
government-sanctioned violence against campesinos. (NOTE:
Police arrested Villalba and her husband, former Chilean
Manuel Rodriguez Patriotic Front member Alcides Oviedo, in
July 2003. Both were convicted in June 2007 of involvement
in Bordon's kidnapping. Bordon was released post-ransom. END
NOTE.) Villalba stated that the killing of a young man in
January of this year at Both's ranch -- and failure on the
part of local authorities to investigate his case -- prompted
the EPP's attack. She claimed that the EPP would "fight fire
with fire" and would use violence against the Colorado
government and its oligarchy (Paraguay's 400 wealthiest
families),who she claimed have abused campesinos during
their 61 years in power. She cited Article 138 of the 1992
Constitution, which permits "the citizenry to resist all
usurpers (of justice) by all means at their disposal," as a
basis for the EPP's militant campaign.


4. (C) Cristobal Olazar, former PPL secretary general and an
informant and witness for the Public Ministry in the case of
Cecilia Cubas (kidnapped and killed by the PPL),also
confirmed the EPP's existence. Olazar told the newspaper
Ultima Hora March 17 that the EPP was created in February
2006 following a police attack on campesinos in Puentesino,
Concepcion. (NOTE: Sensitive reporting indicates that the PPL
attacked a police station in Puentesino around the same time,
in which a police officer was killed. It is unclear if the
events are directly related. END NOTE). Olazar claimed that
the EPP is led by former PPL members Osmar Martinez, Carmen
Villalba, Osvaldo Villalba, Magna Meza, and Manuel Cristaldo
Mieres. Carmen Villalba would not confirm whether she or her
brother Osvaldo were involved in the EPP, only that she was
its "spokesperson." Villalba denied that the EPP had ties
with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC),
although she welcomed EPP-FARC cooperation. (NOTE: Police
killed German Aguayo in the 2003 raid in which Carmen
Villalba was captured. Martinez is serving 35 years in
prison for his involvement in the Cubas case. Osvaldo
Villalba, Meza, and Mieres remain suspects at large for the
2004 kidnapping and 2005 killing of Cecilia Cubas, daughter
of former President Raul Cubas. END NOTE.)


5. (SBU) Villalba told the press March 17 that she had never
met Lugo, despite his alleged ties to the PPL. She declared
that she "personally" supported his presidential candidacy if
only to end Colorado party rule, but that she did not see
Lugo and his "center right" Liberal allies as the same as
true "change by the people." Lugo's supporters questioned
whether the Colorados had cut a deal with Villalba to
announce the EPP's existence and tie Lugo to it one month
before the national election. Yet Colorado presidential
candidate Blanca Ovelar March 18 called Villalba "delirious;"
Ovelar's running mate Carlos Maria Santacruz denied the EPP's
existence.



6. (C) COMMENT: The EPP appears to represent the early
beginnings of a reincarnated PPL, although all signs points
to a very small (and for now, fairly inactive) membership.
Its main goal seems to be organization of an armed
insurrection if the Colorados fail to cede power in the event
of an opposition victory in April. While they may be the
EPP's targets, the Colorados also benefit from allegations
that Lugo has ties to the PPL/EPP (further bolstered by
ongoing Colorado "Photoshopped" propaganda nationwide
purporting to show Lugo in fatigues holding an Ak-47 assault
rifle). END COMMENT.

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CASON