Brazil’s Border With Paraguay Registers Five Executions in One Week

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Two men were executed in Pedro Juan Caballero, Paraguay, a neighboring city to Ponta Porã (Mato Grosso do Sul) in the early hours of Saturday, July 13th. Including these latest two victims, the border region has recorded five executions in only one week.

Pablo Augusto Ramírez Bareiro and Robinson Giovanni Acosta Pereira were in a car on a busy avenue in the town when they were shot by a rifle at around 2 AM, according to Paraguayan police. Out of control, the vehicle hit a wall near a hospital. According to the police, one of the victims had been threatened before.

Five executions in a week

On Friday, July 12th, a homicide was reported in Sanga Puitã, near Ponta Porã, on the Paraguayan side, according to the police. The victim was identified as Yder Porto, 23 years old who may have had links to a criminal faction.

On Wednesday, July 10th, Hector Ruiz, an agronomist and coordinator of an agronomy faculty, was murdered. The police believe this crime has no connection to drug trafficking.

On the same day, also around 7:30 AM, Heitor Sander’s body was found on the road in Ponta Porã. There were three gunshot wounds. According to the police, he was from the municipality of Itaquiraí and had a record of vehicle thefts.

With the two men executed this morning, the border area recorded five executions in a week. In June, the average was one person murdered per day on the border with Paraguay.