PARAGUAYAN PEOPLE'S ARMY STARTS NEW YEAR WITH BANG

S E C R E T ASUNCION 000001 NOFORN SIPDIS C O R R E C T E D COPY CAPTION STATE FOR DS/DSS/ITA, DS/IP/WHA, AND WHA/BSC MDASCHBACH AND LSALES E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/31/2033 TAGS: PTER ASEC PINS MOPS PA SUBJECT: PARAGUAYAN PEOPLE'S ARMY STARTS NEW YEAR WITH BANG REF: A. 08 ASUNCION 181 ¶B. 08 ASUNCION 709 ¶C. 08 ASUNCION 722 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires, a.i. Michael J. Fitzpatrick for reaso ns 1.4 (b) and (d). -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (S/NF) Armed individuals claiming to be members of the Paraguayan People's Army (EPP) attacked a small military outpost in San Pedro Department around midnight December 31, stealing weapons and burning it to the ground. The Paraguayan government responded January 1 with police roadblocks and a decision to send January 2 members of the military's U.S.-trained Joint Rapid Response Unit to conduct door-to-door searches. Sources asserted at least one former member of the Free Fatherland Party (PPL) was involved in the attack -- the latest of several in San Pedro and Concepcion departments perpetrated by former PPL members and/or campesino leaders advocating armed land invasions. The Paraguayan Government downplayed any larger significance of the event to the country's continued stability. END SUMMARY. -------------- RINGING IN THE NEW YEAR -------------- ¶2. (C) An estimated four-to-five armed individuals claiming to be members of the so-called Paraguayan People's Army (EPP) attacked a small, military post in rural Tacuati, San Pedro Department, at 2330 hours local on December 31. (NOTE: The EPP, a group estimated to be 15-25 persons, claims to be a revolutionary group whose primary objective is to fight for the rights of campesinos; its real goal appears to be essentially financial enrichment. END NOTE.) The assailants assaulted the Army sergeant on duty and his wife, and stole two M-16 rifles of Taiwanese origin, eight gun magazines, and 90 rounds of ammunition. (NOTE: The press also reported that uniforms and bulletproof vests were taken. END NOTE.) The attackers then doused the small building with cans of gasoline and burned it to the ground. Although conflicting reports could not confirm whether shots were fired during the attack, confidential sources stated that the duty officer surrendered peacefully, and no one was injured. The attack occurred at a post located in front of the ranch owned by Marys Llorens, the country's most powerful beef producer. Leaflets claiming EPP responsibility were left at the scene. -------------- GOVERNMENT RESPONDS -------------- ¶3. (C) The Paraguayan military alerted the U.S.-trained Joint Immediate Response Detachment (DCEI),and by 0300 New Year's Day, the DCEI was scrambling forces for a possible deployment. By morning of January 1, prosecutors and police were putting up roadblocks in San Pedro and nearby Concepcion Department, and local police were on high alert. Following a visual assessment by Military Forces Commander Admiral Cibar Benitez, the decision was made to deploy 35 DCEI personnel January 2 to Tacuati led by DCEI Commander Colonel Ramon Benitez. (NOTE: The USG and Paraguayan commanders jointly chose to not send advisors on the mission due to local sensitivities to a possible U.S. military presence. The unilateral Paraguayan DCEI military operation is the second undertaken since President Lugo's inauguration in August 2008; the first resulted in the apprehension of six drug traffickers wanted by the Brazilian Federal Police. END NOTE.) Deployed DCEI personnel will work with prosecutors to conduct door-to-door searches of the surrounding areas and apprehend suspects. Interior Minister Rafael Filizzola relayed to the press January 2 President Lugo's position that this was now a military-led operation with police in a support role. -------------- WHO DUNNIT? -------------- ¶4. (S/NF) Given that the sergeant stated one of the attackers was a woman, sources speculated at least one former member of the Free Fatherland Party (PPL),Magna Meza, was involved in the attack -- the latest of several attacks in San Pedro and Concepcion departments perpetrated by former PPL members. Former PPL General Secretary Cristobal Olazar stated March 17 that several former PPL members had re-formed as the EPP, including Magna Meza, Manuel Cristaldo Mieres, and Osvaldo Villalba, who are all wanted in connection with the 2004 kidnapping and 2005 killing of Cecilia Cubas, daughter of former president Raul Cubas Grau (ref A). (NOTE: Paraguayan authorities indicted Mieres and Villalba September 23 for the kidnapping (and post-ransom release) of former Tacuati mayor and wealthy rancher Luis Alberto Lindstron (ref B). END NOTE.) ¶5. (C) The EPP previously claimed responsibility for attacking a police station in Hugua Nandu, Concepcion Department, in April 2006, and vandalizing a Brazilian ranch owner's property in Concepcion Department in March 2008 (ref A). The EPP's most recent attack occurred following several invasions of private property by armed landless campesinos in San Pedro and Concepcion in September and October (ref C). A source alleged November 13 that members of the EPP had distributed a flier in nearby Horqueta, Concepcion Department November 12 urging campesinos to use violence to agitate for agrarian reform. The source noted that flier expressed doubt in President Lugo's ability to execute basic agrarian reform; encouraged massive occupation of the large landholdings using weapons, tools, and rocks; and threatened to avenge campesino killings. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶6. (C) While Interior Minister Rafael Filizzola denounced the attack as "grave" and the work of "criminals" he discarded that the assault demonstrates any capacity to "destabilize the country," and he urged the public to "not give this more importance than it deserves." Yet,there can be little doubt that the EPP is seeking to provoke a heavy-handed response. The EPP's visible attack on the military outpost sends a clear message that the group can and will use violence to attempt to achieve its goals. The Paraguayan Government and military's response thus far to the midnight assault has been appropriate. How they continue to follow-through, or not, will most certainly dictate the EPP's next moves. END COMMENT. Please visit us at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/asuncion FITZPATRICK