Sandwiched between Argentina and Brazil, Paraguay’s strategic location allows its criminal actors – who have increasingly relied on rampant corruption – to ship drugs through South America and on to Europe. While the country does not have any homegrown hegemonic criminal organizations, guerrillas from the Paraguayan People’s Army (Ejercito del Pueblo Paraguayo – EPP) continue to test the state’s authority while securing income through extorting rural landowners and kidnapping. Cigarette and other contraband smuggling is rife.
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Paraguay's New Cabinet Shadowed by Criminal Ties
Paraguay’s new president, Santiago Peña, will face entrenched organized criminal interests, some of which appear to have close ties to members of his own cabinet. …
Uruguay's Top Trafficker Disappears Yet Again in Bolivia
Sebastián Marset, a drug trafficker from Uruguay, is on the run after he was found living under a false identity in Bolivia.
DataInSights: Are Pretrial Detentions Fueling Organized Crime in Paraguay?
Listen to this article This audio was generated using text-to-speech software Insecurity is rising in Paraguay, and the government is increasing recruitment opportunities for organized crime groups by jailing thousands…
Paraguay Profile
Paraguay has enjoyed relative stability following its transition to democracy in the early 1990s. However, the nation is the region's largest producer of marijuana and traffics more illegal cigarettes than any country in the Western Hemisphere. Organized crime in Paraguay benefits from rampant, widespread corruption, and criminal opportunities come from being wedged between South America’s two largest drug consumers in Brazil and Argentina, and being adjacent to one of the region’s burgeoning narcotics hubs in Bolivia.
PARAGUAY PROFILEInvestigations
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From Colima to Caracas, some parts of Latin America have stubbornly high homicide rates, far higher than the rest of their country.
The impeachment of Paraguayan Congressman Erico Galeano for connections to drug trafficking shows progress against impunity in the country.
Santiago Peña won Sunday’s election for Paraguay’s presidency. But questions remain about how the country’s corruption problems will be solved.
Paraguay will hold its presidential elections on April 30. Here, we break down how each candidate will tackle political corruption.
Operation Hinterland is one of many crackdowns undertaken by authorities recently, showing that Paraguay's cocaine connection remains strong.
Authorities have once again destroyed vast amounts of marijuana in Amambay, Paraguay. Why does cultivation continue unimpeded?…

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