345 tonnes of marijuana eradicated in San Rafael reserve
Paraguay and Argentina destroyed about 345 tonnes of marijuana in 100 hectares of crops in the San Rafael reserve, Itapua, during the 10-day Operation Integration. Ministers Patricia Bullrich and Arnaldo Giuzzio presented the joint Gendarmerie-Senad eradication as equal to a year and a half of Argentine seizures.
Argentina’s security minister Patricia Bullrich travelled to Paraguay to jointly
lead Operation Integration with Paraguay’s anti-drug chief Arnaldo Giuzzio.[1]The eradication in the San Rafael reserve in Itapua was carried out jointly by
Argentina’s Gendarmerie and Paraguayan security forces.[1]The results of the
joint 10-day operation were presented at a press conference at Encarnacion
airport by Giuzzio, Bullrich and anti-drug prosecutor Raquel Bordon.[2]
Officials said the eradication would total about 345,000 kilos of marijuana,
representing more than 1,000 million doses valued at more than 300 million
dollars.[1]Bullrich said Argentina seizes about 180 tonnes a year, so the 345
tonnes destroyed in 10 days equalled about a year and a half of Argentine
seizures.[2]
The crops were located by geolocation in the reserve’s wooded zone through
information exchanged by Argentina’s Security Ministry, the Gendarmerie and
Paraguay’s Senad.[2]Giuzzio said the operation confirmed serious
environmental damage because forests had been cleared to plant marijuana.[2]Official calculations put the yield of the crops at about 3,000 kilograms per
hectare.[1]Authorities estimated the cultivated area in Paraguay’s
centre-north at about 6,000 hectares of wooded zones and forest reserves.[1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Argentina.gob.arargentina.gob.arESBullrich viajó a Paraguay en el marco de la segunda etapa de destrucción de marihuana entre Argentina y el país vecino
Última Horaultimahora.comESParaguay y Argentina destruyen 100 hectáreas de marihuana en reserva San Rafael
Open questions the AI reported
The eradication ran over about 10 days before the 27 September 2019 presentation, so 27 September is the documented presentation and publication date rather than a single-day operation date.
One Paraguayan account mentions 120 hectares of cleared woodland seen on the overflight while the destroyed crop area is given as 100 hectares; this report uses the 100-hectare crop figure.
No arrests, charges or court outcomes were reported in the opened sources.
The 300 million dollar valuation and the dose count are official estimates, not independently verified amounts.
Left out, as its quotation was not found in Última Hora: The operation destroyed about 100 hectares of marijuana crops, equivalent to about 345 tonnes, inside the San Rafael natural reserve in Itapua.
Left out activity, as its quotation was not found in Última Hora.
Left out products, as its quotation was not found in Última Hora.
Left out setting, as its quotation was not found in Última Hora.
Left out hectares, as its quotation was not found in Última Hora.
Left out kg seized, as its quotation was not found in Última Hora.
SENAD agents raided a rural property in Colonia Nueva Yaú, Capitán Bado, destroying 9 hectares of marijuana, 450 kg of chopped marijuana and five camps. Prosecutor Sarita Bonzi ordered everything incinerated on site while investigations continue to identify those responsible.
A joint task force destroyed three hectares of marijuana and 9,300 kilograms of the drug in the San Lorenzo community of San Pedro del Paraná, Itapúa, on 31 October 2026. Prosecutors are investigating a criminal organisation they say was buying weapons with trafficking proceeds.
SENAD’s Bella Vista Norte unit, using drones to map plots in the Timburi forest reserve, eradicated four hectares of illegal marijuana and destroyed 660 kg in 33 bales at a staging area; the agency estimated about twelve tonnes kept from the market under prosecutor Rossana Coronel’s supervision.
On 29 October 2026 Paraguay's SENAD reported eradicating four hectares of cannabis — about 12 tonnes — and destroying 1,600 kg of drying marijuana at the Indigenous colony Takua Ju in Yby Pytã, Canindeyú. No one was found at the site.
