Latin Analysis: The Kidnapping of a Vice President in Paraguay
EPP
The Ejército del Pueblo Paraguayo (EPP), translated as the “Paraguayan People’s Army,” is a Marxist-Leninist organization which, as many guerrilla groups throughout Latin America, operates through violent methods to support leftist movements; protests against right-wing-oriented political decisions; as well as to influence the countries’ elites and powerful businessmen and businesswomen. From the early 2000s, the EPP gained significant political and social power as left-wing politicians and citizens became increasingly supportive of their methods and purposes, which would also sometimes contribute financially to the organization. Additionally, this group became increasingly popular for kidnapping members of Paraguay’s most influential and powerful spheres and extorting politicians.
Naturally, the government of Paraguay has been trying to dismember the group for several years; particularly when the administration is ruled by right-wing-oriented heads of government, as Authentical and Radical Liberal Party (PLRA). In spite of that, the group has continued to increase its power and keeps using its old methods to influence Paraguayan politics.
The EPP and the Paraguayan government are long used to using the arms to confront each other. Nevertheless, a clash amongst the armies of both groups which occurred recently in the first week of September, turned out to be particularly catastrophic. This is the case given that as a result of the conflict, two 11-year-old girls were killed by the Paraguayan governmental forces. This event has been controversial not only because it caused international organizations, such as the United Nations, have demanded an in-depth investigation to be done, but also because it has been declared that both girls were of Argentinian origin. Henceforth, the Argentine government, supported by the Human Rights Interamerican Commission (CIDH), demanded Paraguay to provide all of the information regarding the circumstances by which the armed forces decided to kill the girls instead of trying to protect them.
The government of Paraguay is yet to provide all the details of the unfortunate event but it has established that Paraguayan authorities declare to have proof that both belonged to and had been trained by the EPP, as well as they were presumably attacking Paraguayan soldiers. Yet, this has not been completely proven given that all of the girl’s clothes were burnt (due to COVID-related procedures) and the bodies were immediately buried without first recognizing the identity of both, which complicates the situation.
Moreover, this situation has become ever more complicated, as the former Paraguayan vice-president, who belonged to the PLRA party, Oscar Denis, was recently kidnapped by the EPP group. Analysts claim that this was made with the purpose of avenging the murder of the girls who, experts now argue, were possibly the children of some of the leaders of the rebel group. The family of Denis has declared to be in constant communication and believe that the politician is still alive. However, some of the demands made by the EPP to set Denis free, such as releasing out of prison some members of the rebel group, have been denied by the government. Additionally, Denis is diabetic and depends on constant doses of insulin, which is why his release is of extreme urgency. Due to this, politicians who belong to the PLRA party, have accused the current Paraguayan president, Mario Abdo Benítez, of being “intransigent” and “incompetent” in rescuing Denis, as well as politicians as Efraín Alegre, president of the PLRA, have established that Benítez has full responsibility of Denis’s wellbeing.
Adelio Mendoza, one of the former vice-president’s employees who was kidnapped parallelly with the politician, has already been set free. He has declared to be completely sure that Denis is still alive and (relatively) well. Nonetheless, as the EPP’s demands have been rejected by the Paraguayan administration, it is feared that the situation could soon change. Given this situation, the liberal parties of the country have been meeting to determine possible political actions to be taken without the need for the approval of the federal government. Despite this, no decision has been publicly announced and authorities keep planning a possible course of action.
Up until today, the country seems to be in a state of uncertainty, as civil society keeps monitoring the government’s management of the situation. International community and international organizations keep pushing Paraguay to do an investigation regarding the murdering of the two underage girls are also evaluating possible cooperation with the governmental authorities to rescue the former vice-president.
Without a doubt, this scenario suggests that the EPP is continuing to gain more and more influence within the power and governmental spheres in the country, which reduces the government’s legitimacy and credibility among the concerned Paraguayan citizens, not to mention that continues to harm the Latin American country’s reputation amongst international investors, already damaged due to the past social and political instability of the country which has been further damaged by the COVID-19 crisis. The future of Denis, the PLRA, the EPP, and the international image of Paraguay will be, therefore, certainly determined by the government’s capabilities to control this situation in the following weeks.
