A former high-ranking Paraguayan senator and prominent member of the ruling Colorado Party has been taken into custody to serve a 13-year prison term after being convicted of money laundering and criminal association linked to a major cocaine trafficking ring.
Erico Galeano, who lost his parliamentary immunity last week, was transferred to the main prison in Asunción on Wednesday. The court determined that he provided his private aircraft to fugitive Uruguayan drug lord Sebastián Marset and orchestrated a cash real estate transaction worth $1 million to assist a local trafficking leader.
Marset was captured in March. The case also involved the sale of Galeano’s property to a frontman for Miguel “Tío Rico” Insfrán, a Paraguayan drug trafficker. Prosecutors stated that Insfrán and Marset collaborated in a joint cocaine operation.
Although two appellate courts have confirmed the 13-year sentence, Galeano’s defense team has filed an appeal with the Supreme Court of Justice.
The network was dismantled in February 2022 during Operation A Ultranza PY, described as the largest anti-narcotics crackdown in Paraguay’s history. Six individuals have been convicted so far, with dozens more under investigation, including fellow Colorado Party member Juan Carlos Ozorio.
The probe has also implicated other political figures. Former Colorado Party lawmaker Eulalio “Lalo” Gomes was killed in a shootout with police in August 2024 while officers were attempting to serve him with drug-related charges.
Galeano served in the lower house of Congress from 2018 to 2023 and as a national senator until early May. After a court ordered his preventive detention on Tuesday, he was escorted by police to the main prison for processing. Facility staff confirmed he will remain in the admissions unit for at least a week before being moved to a section called “Libertad.”