Juan Antonio Villalba Cardozo, a former municipal councilor from Yby Pytá for the Colorado Party (ANR), was arrested Wednesday, September 2, 2026, during an operation at his home in the Brítez Cue colony, in the department of Canindeyú. The arrest took place as part of Operation Ignis, which is investigating a drug-trafficking network attributed to Felipe Santiago Acosta Riveros, known as “Macho.”
Villalba, 55, is also known by the aliases “Profe,” “Miti” and “Concejal.” He had an arrest warrant and had been considered a fugitive since 2023, when he became the subject of a search in an investigation that also mentioned an alleged attempted murder and other crimes.
The National Anti-Drug Secretariat (SENAD), Paraguay’s agency responsible for combating drug trafficking, said the former councilor is under investigation for allegedly providing political protection and logistical support to the group. The operation was carried out by the Sensitive Investigation Group (GISE), with support from the Internal Defense Operations Command (CODI), a military unit deployed in operations against criminal threats.
SENAD Minister Jalil Rachid said Villalba may have played a significant role in the organization. According to the investigative hypothesis, he would alert group members to the movements of security forces, taking advantage of his residence’s strategic location.
According to Rachid and the SENAD investigation, the house may have served as a logistical command post, a shelter for Acosta and other suspects, and a storage site for marijuana. The investigation is also examining whether Villalba took part in acquiring chopped marijuana and distributing chopped or pressed marijuana to residents of Yby Pytá, Brítez Cue and nearby communities.
During the search, agents seized two cellphones. The devices will undergo technical examination to identify possible contacts, messages or other data that could clarify the extent of the former councilor’s involvement and point to additional members of the network.
Rachid’s statements describing Villalba as “a kind of important person responsible for logistics” and the residence as an operational center are investigative allegations that remain subject to examination by the Public Prosecutor’s Office and judicial determination. The detainee remains at the disposal of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the competent court.
The arrest took place in an area of Canindeyú that Paraguayan authorities consider sensitive because of recurring operations against drug trafficking. Beyond the detention itself, the case may indicate how authorities are investigating alleged links between political protection and criminal networks and may expand Operation Ignis’s reach into the network attributed to “Macho” in the department. These remain official allegations subject to investigation and judicial determination.