HomeNewsBriefParaguay Contraband an 'Uncontainable Avalanche' Spurred by Corruption
BRIEF

Paraguay Contraband an 'Uncontainable Avalanche' Spurred by Corruption

ARGENTINA / 26 SEP 2014 BY MARGUERITE CAWLEY EN

Official corruption is facilitating Paraguay's contraband trade, particularly near the Triple Frontier with Brazil and Argentina -- a hot spot for the illicit movement of products ranging from food to stolen cars and a center for money laundering.

Paraguay's vice minister of industry, Pablo Cuevas, recently called the movement of contraband in Paraguay an "uncontainable avalanche," and complained that the bodies responsible for addressing it were under-resourced. 

However, the business is also run with the complicity of tax and customs officials, who ensure that contraband shipments cross borders with no problems, according to ABC. In one recent case, evidence indicates customs officials allowed a truck loaded with 50 tons of sugar from Argentina to pass freely through controls on its way to Asuncion, and that police who later gave chase to the vehicle allowed those responsible for the shipment to escape, reported ABC

The Parana River -- which runs down from Brazil, along the eastern border with Paraguay and into Argentina -- is an important hub for the trade. Clandestine ports are located along it, while food products are also brought across the land bridge connecting Foz de Iguazu in Brazil with Ciudad del Este, Paraguay.

Items from Argentina are carried up the Parana River to the Triple Frontier, as well as crossing the border at a port on the Paraguay River that connects to Asuncion, reported EFE.

Paraguayan officials are also investigating 70 vehicles thought to have been stolen in Argentina and Brazil and trafficked into Paraguay.

Meanwhile, Paraguay sends numerous clandestine shipments of electronics -- flown in from China -- and cigarettes by river into Brazil and Argentina.

InSight Crime Analysis

According to Paraguay's Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the country loses some $100 million each year to contraband. Ciudad del Este has long been a hub for contraband and counterfeit goods, as well as illegal drugs. The most recent reports underscore how this is facilitated by a culture of corruption, in a region where police have been accused of extortion, the navy of allowing clandestine ports to operate, and the region's judges of favoring drug traffickers. The local government is also under investigation for corruption

SEE ALSO: Coverage of Paraguay

InSight Crime visited Ciudad del Este in August, and found that bargain products were traded mainly in dollars rather than the Paraguayan Guarani, indicating that the black market trade may be linked to money laundering. 

There are also economic factors that help spur the trade. ABC pointed to the inclusion of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay in the Mercosur trading bloc -- which promotes the free movement of goods and currency -- as a facilitator. Meanwhile, recent drops in the value of the Argentine peso compared to the Guarani have reportedly led to an increased flow of goods into Paraguay. 

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

BOLIVIA / 13 MAY 2021

Smuggling networks are feeding illegal mining operations across the Amazon Basin with mercury, despite global efforts to clamp down on…

BELIZE / 9 NOV 2021

While contraband cigarettes are a mainstay across Latin America, Belize has confirmed its status as a major port of entry…

BRAZIL / 8 SEP 2022

Brazil's largest gang, the PCC, could be trying to take over the marijuana business in neighboring Paraguay.

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted

3 MAR 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-director Jeremy McDermott was the featured guest on the Americas Quarterly podcast, where he provided an expert overview of the changing dynamics…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 Attracts Attention

24 FEB 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published its ranking of Venezuela’s ten organized crime groups to accompany the launch of the Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory. Read…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime on El País Podcast

10 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-founder, Jeremy McDermott, was among experts featured in an El País podcast on the progress of Colombia’s nascent peace process.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press

3 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by the Associated Press on developments in Haiti as the country continues its prolonged collapse. McDermott’s words were republished around the world,…

THE ORGANIZATION

Escaping Barrio 18

27 JAN 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published an investigation charting the story of Desafío, a 28-year-old Barrio 18 gang member who is desperate to escape gang life. But there’s one problem: he’s…