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kidnapping, of Maria Edith de Debernardi. Publicly, a one-million-dollar ransom was reportedlypaid for her release, although rumors are that the amount was much greater. 14 After this kidnappingmany of the members of Patria Libre were rounded up by the police, including Juan Arrom. However,several protest marches were held in Asuncion resulted in the release and self exile of Arrom andothers to Brazil. 15However, this didn’t stop Patria Libre which, buoyed by their success, turned again to FARC.A July 3, 2003 e-mail message found on the computer of celebrated FARC commander Raul Reyesreferred to three to five “Paraguayans from Patria Libre, with whom we have done some financialjobs in their country,” and who would be arriving on July 20 for a training course. 16 In addition atleast one FARC adviser, Orley Jurado Palomino, aka Commander Santiago, was sent to Paraguay toprovide training, advice and operational leadership. He remained with Patria Libre in Paraguay fornearly a year. 17Commander Santiago initially trained members of the group in the mountains and hills of Finap,Capiibary, and Caaguazu in southeastern Paraguay. 18 Detected by local authorities, the EPP thenmoved back north to its’ home territory around Concepcion. Here the group began training for amajor kidnapping operation. A video captured in July 2004 shows members of the group rehearsingfor the operation. The methods observed in the video are those of professional kidnappers designedto insure maximum efficiency and ruthlessness in minimal time. 19 The capture of the video didn’tslow down preparations for the operation in part because the Paraguayan authorities thought it wasthe training video for the already completed Debernardi case and so failed to act.Trained by the FARC; Mistaken for Drug TraffickersCommander Santiago’s apparent liaison to the FARC was Rodrigo Granda, the Colombians’representative in Venezuela. A captured e-mail from Granda to Raul Reyes, a member of the FARCSecretariat, indicated that preparations were advancing: “The economic objective is ready. They havethe intelligence, weapons, cars, houses, and the group to carry out the operation. They’re looking toget 5 million of the greenbacks, and are capable of guarding the bull for six months. The cooperationthey are asking for is that Hermes go and inspect the locations and provide recommendations to theoperational group about the best way to negotiate and collect…” 20The operation the Paraguayans were training for in the video was carried out on September21, 2004 under the leadership of Commander Santiago, in which Cecilia Cubas Gusinky, daughterof Paraguayan ex-president Raul Cubas, was kidnapped in San Lorenzo. However, negotiationsdidn’t go well. The Cubas family were not willing to pay the amount of ransom that was demanded.Instead, they counter-offered no more than 300,000 dollars, angering Commander Santiago. OnNovember 13, 2004 an internal meeting was held in which the EPP agreed to receive the moneyoffered, but not release Cecilia. This was done. In early December Commander Santiago reported ina meeting that they were at an impasse with the Cubas family, that the security team was in danger,and that the operation needed to be terminated and Cecilia murdered. Cecilia Cubas was reportedlykilled on Christmas Day, 2004. 21 Her naked decomposing body was found at the bottom of a wellin a house in Ñemby on February 16, 2005. It was later determined that she had been suffocated. 2213“EPP tenia por meta recaudar US$ 40 millones para llegar al poder en 2003,” La Nacion, October 25, 2009.14“Larga Marcha del EPP,” Ultima Hora, October 25, 2009 and “EPP tenia por meta recaudar US$ 40 millones para llegar al poder en 2003,” LaNacion, October 25, 2009.15“Vi formarse al EPP y tambien recibi entrenamiento guerrillero,” Ultima Hora, October 22, 2009.16“Las conexiones del EPP con las FARC,” ABC Color, October 16, 2009.17“Vi formarse al EPP y tambien recibi entrenamiento guerrillero,” Ultima Hora, October 22, 2009.18“Larga Marcha del EPP,” Ultima Hora, October 25, 2009.19“Exhiben video en el que se observan prácticas para secuestrar a una mujer,” ABC Color, November 5, 2004.20“Prueba Reina,” Revista Semana, August 12, 2005.21“Los EPP no son mas de 14, pero tienen apoyo de mucha gente,” Ultima Hora, October 23, 2009.108Security and Defense Studies Review 2009/Edición 2009/ Edicão 2009/ Volume 9, Issues 1 & 2