ANTI-DRUG AGENTS ARREST FIRST CAPITAL COMMAND

C O N F I D E N T I A L ASUNCION 000701 SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/BSC MDASCHBACH, INL FOR NL/LP ASMITH, DGRAHAM E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/31/2033 TAGS: SNAR MOPS PGOV BR BL PA SUBJECT: ANTI-DRUG AGENTS ARREST FIRST CAPITAL COMMAND NARCOS Classified By: DCM Michael J. Fitzpatrick for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Paraguay's National Anti-Drug Secretariat (SENAD) arrested six members of the Sao Paulo-based gang First Capital Command October 13 operating near Pedro Juan Caballero (PJC),Amambay Department. SENAD agents -- with the assistance of the U.S.-trained Paraguayan Military Forces' Joint Immediate Response Unit (DCEI) -- apprehended five Brazilians and one Paraguayan at a ranch near PJC owned by the PCC's primary representative in Paraguay, Carlos Antonio Caballero. (NOTE: Caballero was arrested October 11 at the airport in Guarayos, Bolivia in possession of 277 kilograms of cocaine. END NOTE.) SENAD agents arrested Caballero's son-in-law and designated successor, Brazilian Leandro Reis dos Nacimentos, who has an outstanding arrest warrant in Brazil for his involvement in the PCC, as well as Brazilians Olavo Cavalante da Silva, Jorge Luis Gomes Durate, Arnaldo Lobo Viana, and Paraguayan Ramon Jimenez Delgado. ¶2. (C) SENAD agents arrested the PCC gang members during a raid of Caballero's ranch carried out under "Operation Alliance II," a mission jointly executed by SENAD and DCEI with additional support from the United States and Brazil. Prosecutors authorized SENAD agents to search designated ranches in the departments of Amambay and Alto Parana -- including Caballero's property -- for evidence of narcotics operations, to arrest individuals suspected of cultivating marijuana, and to burn marijuana fields. Brazilian authorities provided SENAD with information about the PCC that led SENAD to execute the raid, and the Brazilian military conducted concurrent military exercises on its side of the Brazilian-Paraguayan border to support the operation. ¶3. (C) COMMENT: This arrest represents a big counternarcotics success for the Lugo administration, which has been in office only two months. It is particularly significant since it stems from international cooperation with Brazil and the United States. The USG (via DEA, State INL and DOD funding) provides ongoing financial assistance, training and equipment to both SENAD and DCEI. U.S. assistance enabled SENAD and DCEI to launch "Operation Alliance II" this year and "Operation Alliance I" in 2007, which resulted in the destruction of over USD 800 million in marijuana destined for the Brazilian market. END COMMENT. Please visit us at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/asuncion AYALDE