Pedro Juan Caballero, the kingdom of marijuana in which the bands fight over the hectares to cultivate

In the Amambay department, the homicide rate of

Paraguay

It takes a considerable jump. And Pedro Juan Caballero, its capital, on the border with Brazil, is one of the main centers of conflict. In the middle of the jungle, the landscapes that surround this city hide huge marijuana plantations. They are cared for by "marihuaneros", the first "scale" of an illegal enterprise that ends with pressed cannabis, ready to be sold to drug traffickers and marketed a few grams in all neighborhoods. the region.

In this Paraguayan province, plantations result in violence unleashed by the territorial struggle between criminal organizations; unlike what is happening in Rosario, for example, with drug trafficking and bunker control groups, they are fighting here to get the power to harvest
Cannabis Sativa. This is a strategic point, the scene of the recent coordination efforts of the states of the region to fight against culture and trafficking, while blocking the advance of the powerful Brazilian cartels, seeking to expand their influence and take control of all the links in the chain. logistics narco

The Argentine Minister of Security,
Patricia Bullrich and Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benítez, as part of international agreements to fight against these transnational narcobands, have toured a three-hectare marijuana plantation hidden in the low mountains of the country's tropical landscape. Paraguay. This chronicler of
THE NATION He followed them closely.

One after the other, in perfectly delineated lines, with their roots injected into the spongy soil on board, were planted by one of the groups of "marihuaneros". For what they saw of the development of the herbaceous, in a month and a half, they would be at their optimal point to be extracted and, after pressure, to be introduced on the illegal market of drug trafficking.

In this Paraguayan province, plantations result in violence unleashed by the territorial struggle between criminal organizations; unlike what is happening in Rosario, for example, with drug trafficking and bunker control groups, they are fighting here to get the power to harvest Cannabis Sativa

The first link in the cannabis marketing chain is on these lands. Pedro Juan Caballero begins one of the most productive routes of the illegal marijuana trade in the world.

In the value chain of marijuana trafficking originating from Paraguay, it is the "marihuaneros" who plant seeds and occupy hidden plantations in the Paraguayan forest to meet with two annual harvests. They receive a daily wage of $ 20 from "collectors", local partners of the big drug cartels.

The "collectors" already receive the pressed product and are ready for bulk distribution. They occupy the middle layer of the production chain. Then, large regional groups, such as the
Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), of San Pablo, and the
Commando Vermelho (CV), from Rio de Janeiro, they traffic drugs. By generating fortunes, they radiate violence through the struggle of the territory and increase the number of deaths.

The firepower of the criminal gangs that manage all this logistics is what worries the authorities in the region.
This context makes it necessary to conclude a cooperation agreement between Argentina and Paraguay to prevent the crossing of the Brazilian border to the common border.

"The owners of the drugs are on the other side of the border.These agreements serve to disarm organizations on both sides," said Minister Bullrich, who added: "In October, planting fires will be carried out in border cities Argentina, Formosa and Chaco ".

The operation yesterday was entrusted to the National Anti-Drug Secretariat of Paraguay (Senad). After the signing of this bilateral treaty, members of the Argentine Gendarmerie joined this unit as dependents, as well as the Brazilian Federal Police.

The marijuana plantation visited by the authorities and by journalists from several Argentine media – among them
THE NATION– It is located 10 kilometers from the international airport Pedro Juan Caballero. The delegation was guided by Deputy Prosecutor Marco Alcaraz of the Special Unit for Combating Drug Trafficking in Paraguay.

The jungle landscape of this locality has a slightly mountainous geography and subdivided plots in which soya is also grown. There, the lands are subdivided; they are private property and the owners are required by law to maintain a protected area of ​​the land in order to preserve the lush native forest.

According to Alcaraz, producers hired by "collectors" take advantage of the nooks left by this law. The land that Bullrich visited yesterday belongs to a rich agricultural and livestock producer in the region. The "marihuaneros" roam the area until they locate a suitable point and begin to plant without worrying about whether they have an owner. There, they settle in precarious camps until the plants are ready to be harvested and, after drying, put in press to make blocks of kilos.

The land that Bullrich visited yesterday belongs to a rich agricultural and livestock producer in the region

As indicated, on one hectare, you can plant about 10,000 plants of
Cannabis sativa, which give about three tons of marijuana. The land is wet and reddish, very fertile. Once the process is complete, they load the product on their shoulders to present it to the "stockists", who then sell it to the big drug gangs, which sell it on a large scale in Brazil, mainly and in Argentina.

According to official estimates, the kilo of pressed marijuana has a market value of about 30 dollars. In Argentine urban areas, for example, the "25 of Paraguayo" – 25 grams of pressed marijuana – is paid about 600 pesos.

"Marihuaneros", in general, are low-income people living on cannabis cultivation, which is the most profitable type of plantation for them. They do not know another way of life, they explain. Among them are defined as "prenseros" and live all year at Pedro Juan Caballero. They are mostly men, poor, who have been raised with basic unmet needs. the logic of the illegal trade that surrounded this city of eastern Paraguay put them in a trap, without leading more than to the cultivation of hemp.

"Marihuaneros", in general, are low-income people living on cannabis cultivation, which is the most profitable type of plantation for them.

The "marihuaneros", according to the judicial investigators, do not smoke the product. What some do is get their hands in the flowers and with the remaining resin that is sticky, they rub it to form a kind of brown clay: hashish, which "burns" and produces an effect. euphoric

In the Paraguayan Attorney General's office, it is argued that this type of operation, like the one Minister Bullrich took part in yesterday, is about six a year. In general, they do not stop the "marihuaneros" because the Senad arrives in the area by helicopter and with many troops, which alerts the producers who escape. The prison sentences for the activity of "marihuaneros" are between 10 and 25 years, the same as for a major drug dealer.

In the last three years in Argentina, 460 tons of marijuana have been seized, mainly from Paraguay. This is why relations between countries have intensified.

Bullrich arrived at Pedro Juan Caballero airport at 11 am yesterday, almost a day later than expected. Climate problems thwarted his trip from

Puerto Iguazú

, and the change of the agenda prevented that, as agreed, the meeting also includes its Brazilian counterpart, exjuez Sergio Moro. The minister was received by Senad's director, Alberto Giuzzio, and a few minutes later, President Benítez got off his plane.

Of jeans and shirt, and with a bulletproof vest of the Senad, Bullrich crossed the crop of plants in perfect condition and tree trunks burned, produced friction by the "maihuaneros" to earn land for illegal culture.

The manager of the operator showed them the different places of the plantation. And as a symbolic gesture, and to seal the path that the two countries wish to follow together, the minister took a machete and cut off one of the cannabis plants at once, lifted it like a trophy and smiled at Benitez, who he looked at smiling, savoring a tereré.