What happened on August 14 in the small Indigenous community of Tekoha Y’apo is not just a distant news report—it is a story of people, of faith, of struggle, and of injustice.
The Events of August 14, 2026
On August 14, 2026, something deeply troubling occurred in the small Indigenous community of Tekoha Y’apo, located in Corpus Christi, Paraguay. That day, an operation named “Operación Redención,” led by the National Anti-Drug Secretariat (SENAD) and the Internal Defense Operations Command (CODI), was executed in the community.
Without any judicial order, public security forces entered the community violently. Helicopters flew low over the homes of families, even landing among them, interrupting the celebration of Children’s Day. There was no warning, no legal document presented—only force. Several members of the community were arrested, including Mr. Bruno López.
Two respected members of the community—the leader, Antonio Carrillo, and a teacher, Catalino Correa—lost their lives. The official version described the procedure as an armed confrontation. However, the Tekoha Y’apo community firmly rejected any connection between the deceased and criminal groups. Through statements and video recordings, community members denounced torture and extrajudicial executions. They asserted that the victims were completely unarmed and that no judicial search warrant was ever presented.
Claudelina Saucedo, widow of the Indigenous leader, related that her husband was summoned to a meeting to discuss the land dispute. According to her testimony, they were tortured and later killed—it was an ambush.
A History of Land Dispossession
This community is not an illegal settlement. It is officially recognized by the government, with its land legally demarcated under national law. For over thirty years, the people of Tekoha Y’apo have been defending their territory. As early as 2014, the community had endured violence at the hands of vigilante groups linked to agribusiness interests seeking to dispossess them of their ancestral lands.
Days before the tragic events, Carrillo had signed a complaint addressed to the Minister of the Interior concerning a defamation campaign linked to attempts to remove them from their land. They even had willingly presented themselves to authorities, ready to cooperate if need. However, instead of dialogue, they were met with violence.
The Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit with the Ava Guarani
The Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit (SSpS) have a long and profound history of accompaniment with the Indigenous peoples of Paraguay. The SVD Missionaries began their mission in 1910, and the SSpS joined them in 1920. The Sisters started this missionary work among the Mbya Guarani in Monday. In 1925, the SSpS left the mission.
In 1976, steps were taken to re-engage with Indigenous communities. In 1977, the mission continued on a permanent basis with the Sisters settling among the Indigenous. The return of the Holy Spirit Sisters came 53 years after the departure of the first mission.
From the beginning, the SSpS made a commitment to accompany legal land procedures and schooling. They started the first school with 15 pupils and a small pharmacy in Arroyo Guazú. Education was always differentiated according to the culture of the Ava Guarani. A small school and a flag at the entrance of the community meant that there was an indigenous community and an institution recognised by the government and someone who could help them defend their rights.
The Sisters have been working with great hope to ensure that Indigenous peoples are recognised and respected in their dignity as children of God, through the promotion of ethnic education, ethnic medicine, agroforestry, interfaith dialogue, and cultural revitalisation. Sr. Mariblanca Barón SSpS had a 47-year journey with the Ava Guarani people. The Sisters have accompanied more than 50 communities with legal advice to recover their territories.
The Wider Reality
Indigenous communities are meant to be protected both by national constitutions and international agreements. Yet here we see a painful contradiction between what is promised and what is lived. In 2021, 11 communities were evicted, displacing 500 families. Many communities continue to be overrun by soya farmers, loggers, and others. Every day they live in uncertainty that their community will be evicted, generating anxiety and diminishing hope for a dignified future.
A Call for Justice and Solidarity
The Paraguayan Conference of Religious expressed its “profound pain, consternation and indignation” at the serious events and solidarity with the affected community. The Church has demanded a “serious, independent, thorough and transparent” investigation. Conferpar insisted that the State “cannot arrive only after the violence,” but must prevent it and effectively guarantee rights. “We cannot get used to conflicts related to land and territory ending in human lives,” the organization pointed out.
Conclusion
As SSpS, we feel closely connected to this reality. Our mission calls us to stand where life is threatened, where voices are silenced, and where dignity is denied. This community, wounded by the violent loss of two of its members, has every right to be heard, to be protected, and to come to the truth of what has happened. Let us hold in our hearts and prayers the entire community, who continue to live with fear, grief, and uncertainty. May this story be a call within us to be more attentive, more courageous, and more united in solidarity with those who suffer injustice.
Sr. Francisca Garcete, SSpS – Province of Paraguay
CONFERENCE OF RELIGIOUS MEN AND WOMEN OF PARAGUAY
Press Release regarding the events that occurred in the Ava Guaraní Tekoha Y’apo Community
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Mt 5:9).
The Conference of Religious Men and Women of Paraguay (CONFERPAR) expresses its profound sorrow, dismay, and indignation at the serious events that took place on August 14 in the Ava Guaraní Tekoha Y’apo community, district of Corpus Christi, department of Canindeyú, which resulted in the deaths of indigenous leader Antonio Carrillo and teacher Catalino Correa.
We deeply lament that two lives have been taken in a context already marked by concern and conflict surrounding the territory, dignity, and rights of the community. We join in the grief of their families, the widows, the children and young people who have lost their teacher, and of an entire community that is currently enduring a time of mourning, anguish, and uncertainty.
As consecrated religious, who for decades have accompanied and walked alongside numerous indigenous peoples and communities in our country, we cannot remain indifferent to the suffering of our indigenous brothers and sisters. Their lives and dignity, their territories, their cultures, and their rights must be respected and protected by the State and by all of society. They cannot be relegated in the face of economic, political, or any other kind of interests. Neither can we accept as normal that those who defend their territory and their rights must do so amid fear, insecurity, or violence.
Therefore, as CONFERPAR, we express our indignation and deep concern over what has happened and join the outcry of the Ava Guaraní Tekoha Y’apo community, which calls for the presence of the State, a willingness to listen, and responses from the competent authorities. A community that has violently lost two of its members has every right to be heard, protected, and accompanied, and to know the truth of what occurred. The State cannot arrive only after violence has broken out; it has the obligation to prevent it and to effectively guarantee the rights of those who historically find themselves in situations of greater vulnerability.
Consequently, we demand a serious, independent, thorough, and transparent investigation that will fully clarify the facts, determine the corresponding responsibilities, and ensure that the truth comes to light. In light of the various existing versions of the events, we ask the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the other responsible institutions to act with speed, impartiality, and full respect for due process and the dignity of all persons. Impunity, indifference, or an insufficient investigation would only deepen the wound and increase the communities’ distrust of the institutions charged with protecting them.
At the same time, we consider it essential for State institutions to adopt the necessary measures to guarantee the safety of the community, prevent further acts of violence, and effectively protect the rights of indigenous peoples recognized by our Constitution and by the international commitments undertaken by Paraguay. We cannot become accustomed to conflicts over land and territory ending in the loss of human lives. Nor can we view these events as isolated incidents, disconnected from a reality in which too many indigenous communities continue to struggle for their most elementary rights to be recognized and respected.
The peace proclaimed by the Gospel does not mean simply the absence of conflict. There can be no true peace without truth, justice, respect for human dignity, and the guarantee of rights. Working for peace requires listening to the cry of those who suffer, questioning the causes that generate and perpetuate these conflicts, and having the courage to transform those situations of injustice that end up fueling violence.
We offer our prayer for the eternal rest of Antonio Carrillo and Catalino Correa, and we express our closeness and solidarity to their families and to the entire Ava Guaraní Tekoha Y’apo community. We ask the Lord to sustain those who are weeping today, to strengthen the community, and to enlighten those who bear the responsibility of clarifying the events and bringing about justice.
As religious men and women of Paraguay, we renew our commitment to walk alongside indigenous peoples, listen to their voices, and accompany their legitimate defense of life, land, territory, culture, justice, and peace. We do not want their outcry to be silenced again, nor do we wish to have to mourn new victims before we begin to truly listen.
