Paraguay arrests sports businessman accused of drug trafficking and money laundering

Paraguayan authorities arrested a sports businessman whom police describe as one of the alleged leaders of a network that moved cocaine from Bolivia toward Europe and Asia.

Dionisio Cáceres Cabrera, 38, was captured during a raid on a house in Itacurubí de la Cordillera, in the central department of Cordillera, police said. Fernando Ruiz Díaz, head of the Paraguayan police’s Anti-Narcotics Intelligence Division, told EFE that Cáceres Cabrera had been a fugitive for seven months.

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One of the leaders, the person chiefly responsible for logistics.

Ruiz Díaz said the businessman is being investigated for international drug trafficking, criminal association and money laundering involving proceeds from narcotics. He described Cáceres Cabrera as “one of the leaders” and the person chiefly responsible for logistics, saying he allegedly organized the routes used by the network.

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Organized the routes.

According to the police account, cocaine shipments arrived in Paraguay by air from Bolivia. Vehicles or boats then carried the drugs to ports in Uruguay, from where they were sent to Europe or Asia. Ruiz Díaz said Cáceres Cabrera, who worked as a sports businessman and football agents’ representative, allegedly used that activity “as a front to conceal assets from drug trafficking.”

Cáceres Cabrera had been wanted since 17 February, when authorities carried out Operation Nexus and arrested four alleged members of the group, including former futsal player Luis Miguel Molinas Brítez and Cindy Peralta, the wife of the newly arrested suspect. Three days later, former Paraguayan goalkeeper Víctor Hugo Centurión turned himself in after allegedly being accused of belonging to the network.

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As a front to conceal assets from drug trafficking.

Ruiz Díaz also said Cáceres Cabrera had a “direct link” to Alexis González, who has been imprisoned in Paraguay since March 2022 following Operation A Ultranza Py. Authorities consider González part of the organization allegedly led by Uruguayan drug trafficker Sebastián Marset. Marset is also being prosecuted in that case and was captured in Bolivia in March for extradition to the United States, where he faces drug trafficking and money laundering charges. Police suspect González continued operating an international drug network from prison.

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