Kidnapping by Paraguayan People's Army or EPP Seizes

C O N F I D E N T I A L ASUNCION 000613

SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR WHA DAS MCMULLEN AND WHA/BSC MILTON DRUCKER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019/10/21
TAGS: PTER PGOV PREL KCRM SNAR
SUBJECT: Kidnapping by Paraguayan People's Army or EPP Seizes
Paraguayan Politics and Press

REF: ASUNCION 512

CLASSIFIED BY: Holloway, Perry, DCM; REASON: 1.4(B),(D)


1. (C) SUMMARY: The Paraguayan People's Army (EPP) kidnapped
well-known rancher Fidel Zavala on October 15. According to
initial reports, the kidnappers demanded a ransom of US $5 million
for Zavala's release. The Zavala family initially refused
involvement of the Paraguayan National Police, but is now working
with the GOP and Colombian Advisors sent by President Uribe (PNP),
after talking with President Lugo. Individuals and political
parties are using the kidnapping to bash the GOP and President
Lugo, with some even calling for his removal. The GOP has done
everything right so far and is working closely with the family.
Media initially was vociferously against President Lugo and
Minister of Interior Filizzola but criticism is abating. The
family awaits communication from the kidnappers and has asked to be
in complete control of the negotiations with the direct support of
the Colombian experts. President's Lugo's future actions regarding
security will be key in allowing him to move forward on other items
on his agenda. END SUMMARY.



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The Kidnapping and the Bad Guys


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2. (SBU) On October 15 at approximately 1930 hours, a group of 14
heavily armed people wearing camouflage entered well-known rancher
Fidel Zavala's cattle ranch in the state of Concepcion, captured
Zavala, and fled using Zavala's own vehicle. Only one of the
kidnappers covered his face, prompting public speculation that a
foreign element was among the group, or that he was a former ranch
employee. The kidnappers told ranch workers that they would demand
$5 million for his release and that they were from the Paraguayan
People's Army (EPP in Spanish).




3. (SBU) The Paraguayan National Police (PNP) located Zavala's
abandoned vehicle the following day, October 16. As police opened
the vehicle door, an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) exploded,
injuring two police officers and one critically. This is the first
time that an IED has been used in a kidnapping . To date there has
been no subsequent communication by the kidnappers and Zavala
remains missing.




4. (SBU) The EPP is a leftist armed group that professes to seek
change on behalf of the poor of Paraguay. The EPP has kidnapped
two other wealthy or prominent people in the last six years. A
government raid of an EPP camp in August (RefTel Asuncion 512)
revealed a lot about the organization and seemed to indicate that
the group was small, weak, and was not well financed or trained.
EMBASSY NOTE: If this kidnapping is the work of the EPP, then its
level of operability is higher than most believed and if it
receives a significant ransom, its funding will be secure for the
short to medium term. END NOTE



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The Mudslinging Begins

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5. (SBU) Immediately following the kidnapping, there was a public
outcry for action. President Lugo's political enemies took
advantage of the kidnappings and made comments in the press like:



B7 The President is not doing enough for security in the
rural areas


B7 It is the President's fault

B7 The President is in with the kidnappers

B7 The President should be impeached

B7 The police are behind the kidnapping

B7 The government knew about the potential kidnapping and
let it happen.




6. (C) In fact, the initial press reporting was all about the
President's and his government's ineffectiveness, instead of
focusing on Mr. Zavala's release. The Zavala family was very
disturbed that the personal political agendas were very risky and
privately called for toning down the attacks. EMBASSY COMMENT:
Embassy believes that the GOP is taking all necessary and available
steps. Unfortunately, no matter the outcome the GOP will likely
come out of this incident under attack from many fronts. If
released the dialog will be on why the government let this happen.
If not released successfully, the government will be crucified as
failing on security. The GOP has all the incentives to seek a
positive resolution, but not necessarily all the tools and support
it needs.



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Meetings Are Us

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7. (C) On October 16 Ambassador Ayalde met separately with the
Minister of Interior and the President of Paraguay in meetings
programmed before the kidnapping. Although the discussions covered
many topics (See Septel),both the President and the Minister spoke
at length about their concerns and the actions they were taking
regarding the kidnapping. The President told the Ambassador he was
doing everything possible to ensure the safe release of Mr. Zavala.
He told Ambassador that he had spoken to Colombian President Uribe
three times immediately following the kidnapping, immediately
offered a team of Colombian government kidnapping experts. The
team plus equipment arrived that evening to assist with the

investigation. EMBASSY NOTE: The GOP and the Zavala family told
us that they are impressed with the Colombian experts. All have
received US training and technical assistance under Plan Colombia.
END NOTE.




8. (C) Based on press reports stating that the GOP was not taking
the kidnapping response seriously, members of Zavala's family asked
to meet with Ambassador Ayalde on October 16. At 1900 hours,
Ambassador Ayalde met with Felina Amarilla first cousin of Zavala
and Fernando Serrati a close family friend. Both claimed to not
trust Lugo and feared he was not doing anything to advance the
investigation due to his left-leaning ideology. The Ambassador
responded that she believed the President and Minister of Interior
were fully engaged in bringing Mr. Zavala home safely. Ambassador
affirmed that the focus should be on seeing Mr. Zavala released and
on avoiding public political attacks, since that would be
counterproductive.




9. Colombian Ambassador to Paraguay Mauricio Gonzalez also asked
to meet with Ambassador Ayalde on October 17. He was concerned
that Mr. Zavala's kidnapping was being used for personal and
political agendas. He feared that the public nature of these
attacks would jeopardize the success of the release. He hoped that
the Colombian involvement would be kept low profile because their
Embassy had received a threat by EPP (prior to the kidnapping) that
if Colombians got involved they would retaliate against Colombian
citizens in Paraguay. EMBASSY NOTE: So far, Colombia's
involvement has barely been mentioned. END NOTE.



10. (C) On October 17, at the request of Vice Minister of Interior
Caballero, Embassy Regional Security Officer (RSO) attended a
meeting with the Paraguayan and Colombian team assembled to
investigate the kidnapping. Of primary importance to them was the
fact that the Zavala family refused to accept GOP assistance.
Based on advice from a family confidant and Paraguayan attorney,
the Zavala family did not want the police to be a part of the
negotiation with the EPP. The Colombian police said that without
the family's acquiescence, they would be of inconsequential
assistance.




11. (C) Vice Minister told the group that President Lugo stated
that the President could not afford for Mr. Zavala to die. RSO
suggested they redouble efforts to bring the family into the fold
by emphasizing the President's commitment to the case, the
Colombian expert assistance, and the fact that as a joint effort
the case stood a better chance of resolution. The Vice Minister
recommitted to attempting to convince the Zavala family to accept
assistance from the GOP. On October 18, President Lugo and the
Minister of Interior visited the Zavala family and convinced them
to accept Colombian assistance in the investigation.




12. (C) On October 19, the Attorney General for Paraguay met with
Ambassador Ayalde to express his concern about the direction of the
investigation. Claiming that he felt sidelined by the Ministry of
Interior, the Attorney General launched into a broader criticism of
key GOP Ministry of Interior and police officials. EMBASSY NOTE:
There is an ongoing feud between the Public Ministry (led by the
Attorney General) and the police regarding who should be in charge
of investigations. END NOTE. The Ambassador stressed the need to
focus on a successful release and the wishes of the family. She
told the Attorney General that she would raise his concerns if an
opportunity presents itself and looked forward to working with him
in the future on improving the relationship between prosecutors and
police.




13. (C) Also on October 19, Zavala brothers Diego and Gonzalo
asked to meet with Ambassador. They thanked the Ambassador for her
interest in the case and reiterated their faith in the Minister and
Vice Minister of Interior (while expressing no confidence in the
PNP). Diego Zavala noted that the political opportunism to use
this kidnapping to discredit President Lugo was counterproductive
to their need for a strong executive at this crucial moment. The
brothers added that they were extremely grateful to Colombian
President Uribe for his assistance and had agreed to accept the
Colombian teams assistance and requested that the negotiator work
directly with the family and not, through the Minister of Interior
or the PNP. The family is keeping the Minister of Interior advised
of developments by talking directly with him on a regular basis.
EMBASSY NOTE: The lack of trust in institutions is very apparent
and the trust in the Minister and Vice Minister of Interior is
based on close personal ties in the past, not confidence in their
institution.



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The Early Investigation Reveals Little

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14. (SBU) The kidnappers have made no attempts to communicate with
the Zavala family. The armed kidnappers stated that they were from
the EPP. They told witnesses to inform the family to prepare US $5
million and that they would communicate with the family at a later
date. The kidnappers warned that the police should be kept at bay
or they would kill Zavala.



15. (C) According to the Colombian police major who analyzed
Zavala's vehicle, the explosion came from an Improvised Explosive
Device (IED) packed with ball bearings attached to batteries. The
device was rigged to explode when the door opened and the circuit
closed. The Colombians estimate that there was no more than 500
grams of high explosives and have sent the material to their
laboratory for analysis. They indicated that the device was very
similar to those used in Colombian narcotrafficking labs and that
it was "100% FARC". EMBASSY NOTE: While the Foreign Terrorist
Organization (FTO) called the Revolutionary Armed Services of
Colombia (FARC in Spanish) was certainly in Paraguay a few years
ago working with the EPP, there is no recent intel to indicate that
this is still the case, although the media and government
opposition are feeding into this theory with little facts or
evidence.



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Criticism Lessens, But Future is Rocky

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16. (SBU) The decision by the Zavala family to accept Colombian
assistance, Lugo's personal visits to the family's residence, and
the GOPs outreach to the press tempered the public criticism
towards the GOB and the focus has shifted more to the actual
kidnapping and how to ensure the successful release of Mr. Zavala,
although the more radical groups opposed to the government continue
to say Lugo should be removed through impeachment. There is no
indication that this is seriously being considered by the Congress
or anyone else.




17. (C) COMMENT: Criticism of the government for the worsening
security climate has increased over the last few months as
kidnappings, murders, and robberies continue to make monthly
headlines. Emblematic of this problem is the Zavala family's
refusal to place any trust or confidence in the PNP. This is due
to the police's alleged involvement in a number of high-profile
murder and narcotics cases. In fact, the Minister of Interior was
recently quoted as saying, "the police is full of mafias." The
President also mentioned to the Ambassador that the situation in
the police is untenable and needs drastic changes given all of the
"embedded mafias" that back to different politicians. No matter
the outcome, the actions of the GOP after the kidnapping are
critical to stemming the negative voices from many fronts
criticizing the government's performance on security and other
issues. If the President does not take concrete action on security
matters to convince his detractors that he is committed to security
and rule of law, his ability to get work done on other issues will
be limited. This could be looked back upon as a seminal moment in
the Lugo Administration. END COMMENT.



AYALDE
AYALDE