Paraguay’s National Anti-Drug Secretariat (Senad) and Brazil’s Federal Police closed the 36th phase of Operation Nueva Alianza on 3 April 2023, after raids by air and land in the forests of Amambay that began on 26 March.[1][2] Under prosecutor Celso Morales, tactical teams moved through Cadete Boquerón, Trabuco, Karapã’i, Cerro Kuatia, Colonia Piray, Colonia Estrella, Tatú and María Auxiliadora, dismantling 131 drug camps.[1] Inside the camps they found 82,680 kilograms of ready marijuana and 750 kilograms of seeds, and eradicated 334 hectares of plantations in growth and harvest.[1][3] Senad estimated that about 1,084,000 kilograms of marijuana were taken out of circulation, most bound for Brazil where a kilogram sells for about USD 150, putting the loss to traffickers at about USD 162.7 million.[1][3] The agency’s statement names no arrests.[1]
Amambay has long been Paraguay’s marijuana production hub, with nearly 70 percent farmland and little state presence, and most of its crop moves across the porous border to Brazil.[2] The Nueva Alianza operations run under a cooperation agreement between Senad and the Federal Police against organised crime in the border region.[1]
