Paraguay says a German couple who had been ranching in the South American country for three decades were abducted and executed by Left-wing rebels who had earlier demanding that a neighboring farmer pay cash and give food aid to the poor.

60-year old Roberto Natto and 53-year old Erika Reiser were captured along with four ranch hands on their farm outside Yby Yau in northern Paraguay, about 395 kilometers north of the capital Asuncion.  The workers managed to escape and told police “the captors wore camouflage uniforms and were apparently directed by Esteban Marin, a member of the criminal Paraguayan People’s Army,” according to investigator Sandra Quinonez.

At some point, police got into a gun battle with the rebels and later found the German couple dead, shot in the back.  Quinonez says that may be because the rebels had to flee quickly, and the hostages were seen as too old or unable to keep up.  The bodies of Natto and Reiser will be repatriated to Germany for interment. 

The Paraguayan People’s Army is believed to have 50 to 150 members and has been blamed for a series of murders in the last few years.  The group left a threatening note for a neighbor of the German couple, demanding that he pay a US$300,000 “fine” and distribute free beef in several neighboring communities as punishment for deforestation.