The military and police authorities of Paraguay have announced that the guerrilla group Army of Marshal López (EML) has been considered "disintegrated and finished". This organization was accused of perpetrating the kidnapping of rancher Félix Urbieta in 2016. This statement came after the capture of Lourdes Ramírez de Ramos, one of the alleged members of the group, marking the second capture made in a week.
In a press conference from the headquarters of the Internal Defense Operations Command (Codi) in the town of Arroyito, located in the department of Concepción, General Abel Acuña, head of that unit, addressed the detention of Lourdes Ramírez de Ramos, wife of Alejandro Ramos, considered the leader of the EML. Ramos founded the organization after disagreements with the guerrilla group Paraguayan People's Army (EPP).
For his part, Commissioner Nimio Cardozo, head of Anti-Kidnapping of the National Police of Paraguay, characterized the operation as one of the most important for local authorities. He highlighted the alleged criminal record of the detainee, noting that she participated in the EPP before forming her own terrorist criminal group with her husband. Cardozo stated that the capture of Ramírez de Ramos represents the detention of the last active link of the self-styled Army of Marshal López, which had been causing concern among producers in the area.
In addition to the capture of Ramírez de Ramos, another key member of the group, Lourdes Teresita Ramos Ramírez, known as 'Yvera', was arrested the week prior. With these captures, authorities consider the EML organization completely dismantled, having neutralized or captured all its members. The collaboration of various institutions in this operation is underscored, such as the Codi, the Joint Task Force (FTC), the Military Intelligence Battalion (Bimi), the Anti-Kidnapping Department of the National Police (DAS), and the Public Ministry. The information obtained from the detainees could be crucial to clarify the whereabouts of Félix Urbieta, one of the kidnapped individuals, along with the former vice president of the country Óscar Denis and the police officer Edelio Morínigo, the latter also in the hands of the EPP.