Three men described as Brazilian nationals died this Thursday in a sustained gunfight with police in the border region of Pedro Juan Caballero, a city that sits along the eastern frontier with Brazil. On the same day, a Paraguayan police officer answering an emergency call about an attempted burglary was killed in the line of duty. The incident is being investigated by authorities in Amambay, and the identities of the deceased, believed to be between 20 and 35 years old, had not been confirmed due to a lack of fingerprint records in Paraguay, according to statements from Xavier Flores, who serves as the head of investigations for the Amambay department of the Paraguay National Police. The context surrounding the event remains under review as investigators piece together the sequence of actions that led to the confrontation and subsequent losses of life.
Initial police reports indicate that the suspects occupied a residence that had been fortified with a high wall, designed to obscure the interior from external observation and hinder external monitoring. Inside the dwelling, authorities recovered 9-millimeter pistols, ammunition, and a significant quantity of marijuana, with estimates indicating roughly 1,000 kilograms were present at the scene. Flores noted that the clash erupted after one of the occupants opened fire when police officers arrived as part of a planned operation. The confrontation underscores the level of risk faced by law enforcement personnel during operations in border areas where criminal activity can be heavily armed and deeply organized.
As the investigation progressed, police efforts broadened to locate those responsible for the attempted attack on the home of the owner of a currency exchange business in the capital area of Amambay. Surveillance footage supported the pursuit, and local media outlets reported a dramatic sequence in which at least six individuals who had previously abducted the owner’s son entered the residence with firearms. Reports indicated that the assailants used the opportunity to communicate with the staff, possibly triggering a panic button to alert nearby authorities and a nearby police substation. In the ensuing events, a police officer identified as Esteban Ramón Cañete, aged 44, lost his life in the line of duty. He was among the responders who engaged the aggressors, while another officer, 33-year-old Ésver Ortega, sustained injuries amid the clashes as the situation unfolded across the Amambay region. The broader operation continued into the evening as investigators sought to determine the motives behind the assault and to identify all individuals involved in these violent exchanges, including any possible connections to organized crime networks that frequently operate along the border as criminals exploit the frontier’s permeability for illicit trafficking and other crimes. The case has drawn attention from national authorities and regional observers who monitor security conditions along the Paraguay-Brazil border and the impact of violent incidents on local communities and commerce within Amambay and beyond.