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Mega-attack in Santa Rita: Gang targets multiple banks and currency exchange
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Economy & Trade

Mega-attack in Santa Rita: Gang targets multiple banks and currency exchange

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Outcome reported
  • A coordinated assault by a gang targeted multiple financial institutions and a currency exchange in Santa Rita, Paraguay, on June 16, 2026.
  • The criminals used explosives to breach vaults at Banco Familiar and GNB, allegedly stealing significant amounts of local and U.S. currency.
  • Other targeted locations, including Banco Ueno and Santa Rita Cambios, were also dynamited, but the robbers were unable to access their contents due to time constraints.

On June 16, 2026, the city of Santa Rita in Paraguay's Alto Paraná department became the scene of a large-scale coordinated attack. A gang simultaneously targeted Banco GNB, Banco Ueno, Banco Familiar, and the Santa Rita Cambios currency exchange.

Explosives were used to breach the vaults of Banco Familiar, from which an estimated 1.2 billion guaraníes and 70,000 U.S. dollars were stolen. Banco GNB also suffered a vault breach, with an alleged theft of 1.8 billion guaraníes and 30,000 U.S. dollars.

While Banco Ueno and Santa Rita Cambios were also targeted with explosives, the assailants reportedly ran out of time and were unable to activate the devices, thus failing to steal any money from these establishments. The article also references similar attacks in Naranjal, Coronel Bogado, and Katueté, indicating a pattern of organized crime targeting financial and commercial entities in Paraguay.

DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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