WILD WEST IN THE BRAZILIAN MIDDLE WEST

This month, five people were murdered in Ponta Porã, in Mato Grosso do Sul state, and in its Paraguayan neighbour, Pedro Juan Caballero, in Amambay Department. The two cities, merged through conurbation, lie on a dry border among the countries without any division. Among the dead people, is the daughter of Amambay’s governor. On the Brazilian side, the only victim was the Ponta Porã City Councilor, Farid Charbell. Later this month, a helicopter with 300 kg of cocaine fell and exploded in Ponta Porã’s countryside, killing its two occupants.

The region has a unique history of violence, atypical for a locality with less than 200.000 inhabitants, but understandable when the issue of drug trafficking and organized crime is analyzed. What draws attention is the recent increase in the criminal dynamics on that particular location of the border.

GENERAL CONTEXT

The situation in the spot is a reflex of a broader security issue. Much of the drug in Brazil is not produced locally. Bolivia and Paraguay are two hubs for the production of drugs, and the border with Mato Grosso do Sul is a favourable entry point into the country. From there, The drugs are sent to the Southeast of Brazil, where they supply the consumer market and international traffic through the ports of Santos and Rio de Janeiro.

It appears that the Ponta Porã/Pedro Juan Caballero region is controlled by the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), the criminal gang from São Paulo. However, there are other smuggling points along the 1.300 km border between Paraguay and Brazil where Comando Vermelho (CV) is active.

It is worth noting that the border is also used as an escape route for wanted members of PCC. Even the alleged leader of the PCC, Marcos Camacho, aka ‘Marcola’, has already hidden in the country. Besides, there are strong suspicions that André Oliveira Macedo, aka ‘André do Rap’, is taking refuge there. There are also indications that criminals have been laundering illicit money in the neighbouring country.

THE END OF AN ERA

Things started to change on April 19^th of this year, when the man who commanded the border, Fahd Jamil Georges, also known as “Turco”, voluntarily presented himself to the Brazilian police. The 79-year-old criminal reigned there for nearly 50 years, but this year Fahd found himself in the middle of a war between PCC and CV that put his life, and that of others around him, in a perilous situation that required an equally drastic measure: to allow himself to be arrested.

Shortly afterwards, he was released in poor health condition to stay at home arrest and kept safe from the pandemic danger of prisons to the elderly. In his residence, he fell and fractured a vertebra, further worsening his ability to control the region and even his own life.

THE FAR WEST AMBIANCE

The progressive exit of Turco from the scene is also starting to change the ambiance of Ponta Porã/Pedro Juan Caballero. The location has a very particular atmosphere: it is not a city with slums, like those seen in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, but drug trafficking is just as strong. In 2016, the criminals’ warfare power was publicly exposed: one of the leaders of the international traffic in the region and “allied” to the PCC, Jorge Rafaat, was shot and killed by PCC itself with .50 anti-aircraft weaponry, inside his bulletproof vehicle.

Social relations in the location are also greatly affected by its criminal dynamics. It is veiled knowledge of the population that many residents have connections with organized crime, and this is creating a distrustful and hostile climate in the cities. But the influence does not stop there; the local media can hardly report anything about organized crime due to the fear of retaliation. The public authorities are also not spared; the Brazilian Public Prosecutor’s office had its base of operations transferred to Dourados, 120 km away, for security reasons.

Many efforts are being directed to the area: a new radar station was installed there by the Brazilian Air Force (FAB), and the Paraguayan government signed an agreement with the Brazilian Federal Police (PF) to set up a Bipartite Command. Not to mention the various operations conducted by different law enforcement corporations. Nevertheless, given the current situation, it appears that government measures are not being enough.