Paraná is a hub for drug trafficking. Vast quantities of cocaine and marijuana enter the state from Paraguay, via the Paraná River, and from Foz do Iguaçu.
Santa Catarina is a launchpad for cocaine destined for Europe and a transit point for marijuana and contraband headed to the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul and Uruguay.
Mato Grosso do Sul is among Brazil’s most strategic states for transnational crime.
Strategically located between Argentina and Uruguay, Rio Grande do Sul is a hub for contraband and drug smuggling.
One of Paraguay’s most sparsely populated but most homicidal departments, Alto Paraguay serves as an important cocaine transit corridor.
In Concepción, powerful drug traffickers have penetrated local politics. With corruption rife, some municipalities have started to resemble criminal enclaves.
Itapúa is a minor marijuana producer but an important transit corridor for cannabis smuggled into Argentina. Some areas of the river border it shares with Argentina are considered hotspots for…
Despite boasting one of Paraguay’s lowest murder rates, Ñeembucú is an important transit point for marijuana heading to Argentina.
Located on Paraguay’s border with Brazil, Canindeyú is a key criminal hub in the tri-border area.
Boquerón is an important part of regional cocaine trafficking routes due to its strategic location on Paraguay's border with Bolivia and its vast stretches of unpopulated land.
Alto Paraná is home to some of Paraguay’s most dynamic criminal economies. Contraband goods continue to flood Brazil and Argentina via Ciudad del Este and surrounding river routes.
Presidente Hayes is one of three departments in Paraguay’s Chaco region, a vast and inhospitable forest area, where criminal organizations operate with relative impunity.
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