Peña 'forgot' over 4 tons of cocaine from his government fell in Spain

Paraguayan President Santiago Peña's claims of successfully curbing cocaine exports have been directly challenged by a significant drug seizure in Spain. During his latest management report to Congress on July 1, Peña stated that Paraguay is no longer a cocaine transit corridor and that no cocaine shipments from the country have been intercepted in European ports since his administration began on August 15, 2023.

This assertion was undermined just weeks later when Spanish authorities announced the seizure of over four tons of cocaine in the port of Barcelona on July 26, 2024. The cocaine was found hidden within a shipment of rice and originated from Paraguay. This discovery directly contradicts Peña's narrative that drug shipments are now being confiscated within Paraguay itself, effectively halting their international transit.

Earlier in July, following a record seizure of four tons of cocaine disguised as sugar at Puerto Caacupemí, Peña had publicly declared that drugs were no longer leaving Paraguay. He emphasized that the challenge now is to prevent drugs from entering the country, which he described as a transit point rather than a production site. Peña had also stated that such seizures would deter organized crime from using Paraguay and signal that authorities are determined to intercept their operations.