Operation Threshold Exposes Police Rift After Record 89-Ton Drug Seizure in Paraguay

Top ministers argue over suspected police corruption and potential cooperation with traffickers following a historic drug bust.

Operation Threshold, headed by SENAD and CODI, revealed a significant division within the National Police and produced 89 tons of pressed marijuana, the greatest in-transit narcotics seizure in the nation. There were political repercussions from the operation as well. Following the discovery of documents belonging to a top police official close to the location where the drug convoy escaped, tensions between ministers Jalil Rachid and Enrique Riera increased.

Rachid publicly accused the police of corruption, pointing out that the 120-kilometer trip was made possible by about eleven police stations in Canindeyú and that the route was "obvious" for traffickers.

Forty cops were dismissed from five stations along the route by Police Commander Carlos Benítez, who also placed them under internal investigation. He said this was done to safeguard his staff and denied any confrontation with SENAD, arguing that the police just lacked the intelligence necessary to step in. When Chief Commissioner Osvaldo Andino Gill, the head of Investigations in abandoned-vehicle escape cases, had his ID, registration, and police credentials found, tensions increased. Andino reported his wallet missing at the First Police Station in Saltos Del Guairá after claiming he arrived at midnight to assist the CODI tactical unit and probably dropped it while getting in or out of the patrol car.

Suspicion of a power struggle was heightened by the contradictory explanations. Rachid fueled rumors of cooperation with drug traffickers by denying any police involvement in the operations. Rachid's comments were deemed "hasty and unfounded" by Interior Minister Riera, who cautioned that the public charges caused an internal schism. Despite admitting that police corruption is "undeniable," he maintained that a purge is in progress.

Riera insisted that there be no public insinuations and that efforts be coordinated. He challenged Rachid about their mutual mistrust, pointing to instances in the past where SENAD was disregarded because of alleged leaks, including the discovery of a ton of cocaine at Silvio Pettirossi Airport that SENAD was unable to find.

Speaking in a clearly uneasy tone, the Interior Minister stated that he never thought to ask SENAD "what happened" or "where the dogs were" in public, adding that any conversations took place internally and explanations were given.

Riera also mentioned actions such as the raid that killed Congressman Eulalio "Lalo" Gomes, in which SENAD was not notified because of alleged connections between the deceased and senior officials. He pointed out that when problems with the DEA emerged, authorities publicly defended the ruling at a press conference.