The insurgency in Paraguay, also known as the Paraguayan People's Army insurgency and the EPP rebellion (from the group's name in Spanish: Ejército del Pueblo Paraguayo), is an ongoing low-level armed conflict in northeastern Paraguay. Between 2005 and the summer of 2014, the EPP campaign resulted in at least 145 deaths, the majority of them local ranchers, private security guards, and police officers, along with several insurgents. During that same period the group perpetrated 28 kidnappings for ransom and a total of 85 "violent acts".
The insurgency began in 2005, after several members of the Patria Libre party formed the Paraguayan People's Army (EPP). The Government of Paraguay suspects the EPP has ties to the Colombian rebel group FARC. Two splinter groups of the EPP, the Armed Peasant Association (ACA) and the Army of Marshal López (EML), have also launched separate armed campaigns against the government.
History Background The 1989 fall of the Stroessner dictatorship in Paraguay fueled the rapid development of previously banned, left-wing political groups. In 1990 current EPP leader Oviedo Britez enrolled in the theology faculty of the Catholic University of Asuncion.
Formation of the EPP In 1992 Britez was expelled from the theology study course, becoming increasingly interested in political change through revolutionary armed struggle. Britez, Juan Arrom Suhurt and Britez's fiancée Carmen Villalba soon created the core of Partido Patria Libre, Paraguayan People's Army's precursor. Between 1995 and 1996 Britez and Villalba allegedly received military training from Chile's Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front.
In 1997 MPL carried its first act of expropriation by unsuccessfully attempting a bank robbery in the town of Choré. All six robbers were detained by a local police unit, and later received a three-year sentence. Following the release of its members in early 2000, MPL launched a recruiting campaign and adopted kidnapping as its main source of funds.
Its first significant action was the 2001 kidnapping of María Edith Bordón de Debernardi. Her husband, businessman Antonio Debernardi, paid $1 million for her release. On 2 July 2004, police captured Oviedo Britez and Carmen Villalba in Ñemby, on the outskirts of Asunción. A search of the couple's house in the city of San Lorenzo followed the arrest; intelligence materials and operating manuals were seized. Following Britez's and Villalba's detention, Osmar Martínez and Osvaldo Villalba became EPP's new field commanders.
Major actions In 2004, the group kidnapped Cecilia Cubas, the daughter of former president of Paraguay Raúl Cubas. Despite receiving a ransom of $300,000, the kidnappers killed her. After the PPL was taken apart by security forces in 2005, several members decided to form a new group with which to continue the armed struggle, adopting its current name in 2008.
EPP's ideology was first outlined in a book called "Francist 21st Century Revolution", written by Britez in prison. The book is named after Jose Gaspar Rodriguez de Francia, a dictator who ruled over Paraguay between 1814 and 1841, and incorporates elements of Bolivarianism and Marxism–Leninism. The majority of EPP's members reportedly belong to eight families. Despite its limited size, EPP enjoys the support of the local population in the areas that it controls.
Later developments Apart from the use of abductions EPP also engaged in cattle raiding, extortion, robberies and drug trade operations. The latter was facilitated with the aid of FARC; although EPP initially only extorted drug producers, reports indicate the presence of EPP's own marijuana plantations. An EPP communique denied any involvement in the drug trade, accusing the government of propaganda.
In August 2014 EPP agents Albino Larrea and Alfredo Jara Larrea formed a splinter faction known as ACA. ACA's initial strength amounted to 13 fighters, but as many as five of their fighters were allegedly killed in clashes with security forces in September 2014. The ACA was rendered defunct by 2016 after the remainder of its militants were killed by the government in 2015. An additional EPP splinter faction formed called Ejército de Mariscal López (EML), some of whose members later reconstituted ACA in 2017. Having suffered a major defeat in 2021, the refounded ACA was described as a defunct group by mid-2024.
In 2015 former comrade of the EPP founders and ex-member Cristóbal Olazar criticized the Paraguayan government for using the EPP as a resource, and not honestly trying to end their existence. He argues that the government use their existence as an excuse to expand government resources and corrupt officials participate in EPP drug trafficking.
By 2018 the EPP began staging attacks against Mennonite communities located in areas strategic to marijuana trafficking. These areas are also contested by Brazilian gangs Comando Vermelho, and Primeiro Comando da Capital.
Timeline
2005 On 27 August, a pair of policemen encountered an EPP column in the area of Yasy Cañy, Canindeyú. The resulting skirmish led to the death of one policeman.
2006
2007
2008 On 31 July, a group of five militants abducted farm owner Luis Alberto Lindstron; the incident took place in the zone of Kuruzú de Hierro. Two rebels were wounded after a firefight with security forces that took place as the kidnappers were withdrawing. On 12 September, Alberto Lindstron was released from captivity after his relatives paid a $120,000 ransom.
2009 On 1 August, police discovered an EPP forest encampment in the Concepción department. The occupants managed to escape after briefly firing shots. Food, plans for future activities, and approximately $27,900 were seized. On 29 August, EPP militants detonated an IED at the Paraguayan Palace of Justice. The explosion caused minor property damage. On 15 October, insurgents abducted Fidel Zavala, a rancher from the region of Concepción. Before leaving, the rebels booby-trapped Zavala's vehicle; two policemen were wounded while investigating his disappearance. On 31 December, EPP members attacked a small military outpost in the San Pedro department, stealing weapons and burning it to the ground.
2010
In early January, Fidel Zavala was freed from captivity following a ransom of $550,000. Thirty cattle were also distributed among Concepción's poor communities. On 21 April, a shootout between EPP members and security forces in Arroyito left one policeman and three private guards dead. In May, four security guards were killed by EPP militants after accidentally discovering an EPP encampment. Following the incident, a 30-day state of emergency was declared in five provinces, with 3,000 soldiers and police deployed to combat the rebels. In July, EPP member Severiano Martinez was killed in a shootout with police. On 22 September, in Hugua Ñandú, Paraguay, an armed assailant fired upon a police patrol vehicle. The attack damaged the windows of the vehicle but caused no casualties. No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but authorities suspected the EPP was responsible for the attack. On 24 September, high-ranking EPP members Nimio Cardozo and Gabriel Zárate Cardozo were killed in a police operation.
2011 On 12 January, in the Carlos Antonio López Square and the Cerro Cora television facilities in the Saxony area of Asunción, unknown militants placed an improvised explosive device in a trash can. Subsequently, the police discovered and deactivated the IED safely, preventing casualties or damage to property. No group claimed responsibility, although the authorities believed that the EPP was responsible. On 17 January, explosive devices planted by EPP militants injured five people in the town of Horqueta. In April, a police officer and three ranch workers were killed by EPP militants. On 25 January, in San Juan Nepomuceno, Caazapá, local politician Julio Rubén Pereira was kidnapped by militants of the EPP. The EPP demanded a million dollars from the Pereira family for his release or, as an alternative, demanded that the Paraguayan government release Miguel López Perito, leader of the Cabinet and the April 10 Movement in exchange for Pereira. On 29 January, around 4:00 AM, Peira managed to escape captivity and returned home. The EPP claimed responsibility through an email. In May, Jesús Ortiz, an EPP logistics coordinator, was captured. In July, the EPP claimed responsibility for sabotaging a farm in the Concepción department, in which farm machinery was destroyed. On 21 September, two police officers were killed after a group of EPP militants attacked their outpost near Horqueta with explosives and automatic weapons. The insurgents reportedly stole weapons and ammunition from the encampment before fleeing.
2012 In September, one policeman was killed and one was seriously injured after an EPP attack in the town of Azotey. On 15 June, 17 people, 6 policemen and 11 alleged EPP militants, were killed, 63 arrested and over 80 were injured and tortured in a battle in Curuguaty for illegal land occupation by the alleged militants. On 13 October, an explosive device detonated on the property of Arturo Urbieta, the local mayor, near Horqueta, Concepción. The device targeted a Paraguay National Administration of Electricity (ANDE) power transmission tower in the area. There were no reported casualties in the blast. The EPP claimed responsibility for the attack. On 16 November, authorities detained three members of the EPP's logistics branch in the area of Tacuatí.
2013 On 19 February, gunmen opened fire on Benjamin Lezcano outside his home in Concepción, Concepción. Lezcano, the leader of the Committee of Rural Workers, was killed in the attack. The EPP claimed responsibility for the incident. On 21 April, a roadside bomb detonated near a police patrol in Azotey, Concepción. One officer was killed and three were wounded in the attack. Armed assailants attacked a police station in Concepción department. One attacker was killed and two policemen were wounded in the ensuing gunfire. The attack was committed in response to the murder of a local peasant leader. On 30 May, the cattleman, logger, and former mayor of Tacuatí, Luis Alberto Lindstron, was assassinated. In June, a rancher was killed by EPP militants. In August, five people were killed by suspected EPP militants near San Pedro de Ycuamandiyú. On 15 August, Paraguay's new President Horacio Cartes announced an assault on the EPP, sending 400 troops to the north of the country. On 17 August, assailants abducted six people from the Lagunita cattle ranch in Tacuatí, San Pedro. The assailants killed five of the abductees, but one escaped or was released and reported the incident to the police. The attackers then ambushed the police when the officers responded, injuring one police officer. The EPP claimed responsibility for this incident. On 1 October, assailants detonated an IED and opened fire on a vehicle transporting human rights trainers near Tacuatí, San Pedro. At least one police officer was killed and seven other people were injured in the assault. On 10 October, assailants detonated explosive devices and opened fire on police vehicles in Horqueta, Concepción. Police Chief Manuel Escurra was killed, and two other police officers were injured in the attack. In another incident, militants attempted to kidnap a civilian rancher in Horqueta, Concepción. The outcome of the kidnapping attempt is unknown. On 8 December, EPP guerrillas killed a rancher and a Paraguayan Air Force sergeant in two separate attacks.
2014 On 2 April, 2 EPP guerillas and a soldier were killed after an attack against a Brazilian-owned property in the Concepción department. One of the two EPP members was the group's reported third-in-command. The insurgents managed to kidnap the 16-year-old son of farmers during their escape.