Paraguayan Government Deploys Joint Military-Police Force to Monitor Upcoming Human Rights March for “Violent Infiltrators”

The Paraguayan Minister of the Interior, Carmelo Caballero, announced that the military will back the police during the first two weeks of December in reaction to “intelligence information” about possible escapes from jails and  “infiltrators” in the upcoming human rights protest planned for Monday, December 10, who are “planning to destabilize the government.”

Security checkpoints in the streets. Source: ABC COLOR Source: Ultima Hora

The Minister of the Interior, Carmelo Caballero, announced that the military will back the police during the first two weeks of December in reaction to “intelligence information” about possible escapes from jails and to “infiltrators” in the upcoming human rights protest planned for Monday, December 10, who are “planning to destabilize the government.” The military-police preparation will be spread out equally for soccer games, the region of Caacupé and Colorado Party primary elections.

Caballero said this Wednesday that the Ministry of the Interior would work with the commander of Military Forces, general Miguel Ángel Christ, so that the military can give back-up to the police during these first two weeks of December, due to the quantity of events and intelligence information that points to possible escapes from prisons and “acts of violence” during marches of groups in opposition to the government.

“This Monday is the Human Rights March, and we have intelligence information that it will be infiltrated by people who will seek to generate acts of violence, including victims, with the goal of destabilizing the government,” the minister said to journalists in the presidential terminal of the Silvio Pettirossi Airpost, where he arrived to send off President Federico Franco, who travelled to Miami.

For this Monday, December 10th, International Human Rights Day, the Council of Unity of Social and Political Movements announced a mobilization in order to demand an explanation of last Junes’ massacre in Curuguaty and the recent assassination of campesino leader Vidal Vega. Participants in the march will include social and campesino movements, Human Rights and indigenous organizations, among others.  The rally is callled for 17:00 in the Plaza Uruguaya.

Caballero eluded responding to questions about whether  the“infiltrators” about which he spoke were from a leftist group.  However, he did say “…but you know that there are sectors that are against the government.”

“We are going to install cameras, watch these marches, so that all the marchers can enjoy their rights, but if there are infiltrators,  they will be detected(…) The police have instructions to act with the proportional use of force if there are outbreaks of violence. We are going to be extremely respectful of humanr rights, but if infiltrated people exist, there will be firmness on the part of the State in this sense,” he proclaimed.

Equally, the minister dais that the military-police “preparation” will serve to reinforce security in the the country’s prisons, in reaction to the danger of escapes, given that they also are handling information that such could occur during December.  For the primary elections of the ANR this Sunday, 12 thousand police will be deployed, while another police-military contingent will accompany the Festival of Caacupé this 7th and 8th of December,  as well as the three soccer games on Friday and the other three planned for the same day of the Colorado Party elections, Caballero specified.