Attacked Campesino Leader in Stable Condition

Written by Arturo Peña, translated by April Howard: Pedro Silva is the active campesino leader from the Lima District, in the province of San Pedro, and member of the Provincial Coordinator in Defense of Sovereignty, a front that opposes the advance of soy monoculture in the area,. Silva was wounded last friday night in his house by two hit men of Brazilian nationality. Silva was hit with three bullets, two in the abdomen and one in the right arm. His recuperation, in the Emergency Medical Hospital in Asunción, was stable until today when a clot was discovered that could affect his lungs, due to which surgery will be needed. The family of Pedro Silva communicated that they will be needing blood donors in the next few hours.
To contact the Silvas to make a solidarity donation, please call Silva's son in law Benigno Acosta: 0981 636 932.

Hit Men Positive in Nitrate Test

After the attack suffered by Silva, the two hit men were captured by military forces from the Santa Rosa police station.

According to the latest news, those responsible for the attempted homicide, known as Edgar Ferreira Caballero and Eduardo Ferreira Feltudes, both Brazilian, tested positive in a p[araffin wax nitrate test, which is closing the circle on their guilt. Both are still detained. However, the Silva family is concerned that the authorities are not making sufficient progress in the investigation and will not investigate the probable connection between the hit men and the soy businesses, most of which are Brazilian, in the zone, and with which the residents are encountering tension due to the arrogance of the businesses and the indiscriminate use of agrotoxins in the soy plantations, which already affects various communities in the province of San Pedro.

The case in is in the hands of the public prosecutor Fany Aguilera, of Santa Rosa. Lawyers of the Paraguayan Human Rights Commission are also looking in to the issue.

Neighbors of Pedro Silva held protests in the area and in front of the regional public prosecutor's office, where they are currently in vigil, asking that the case not be like so many which have been left in impunity and have taken the lives of several agricultural workers.