Brazil and Paraguay to set up bipartite command on the border

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazilian and Paraguayan security authorities have agreed to install a bipartite command on the border between Pedro Juan Caballero and Ponta Porã to confront organized crime.

According to Paraguayan Interior Minister Arnaldo Guizzio, there are plans to create a second command between Salto del Guairá in Paraguay and Guairá in Brazil later.

This operational force will establish information exchange and cooperation in the fight against organized crime and its related activities, said Guizzio, as quoted by Agencia de Información Paraguaya.

They also plan to promote greater technical assistance from Brazil and international experts in this area.

The agreement arose from a meeting on Wednesday of representatives of security forces from both countries, including Paraguay’s minister of the Anti-Smuggling Unit, Emilio Fúster, the Brazilian Federal Police, and a specialized unit in the fight against organized crime from that neighboring nation.

At the beginning of February, Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benítez stressed that the fight against this scourge will be permanent and acknowledged that it currently permeates all institutions, from the government to the National Police and other sectors of society.

He stated that his government is committed to strengthening the fight against organized crime, which is reflected in the record seizures obtained in recent times, generating a lot of mobility due to the fall of criminal leaders.

Published data show that since August 2018, the Anti-Drug Secretariat of this South American nation carried out 1,909 operations, including drug seizures and dismantling of evil structures, with economic damage of US$581 million to organized crime.

During this period, a record 11.2 tons of cocaine were seized, in addition to the destruction of logistical structures and the execution of operations against drug dealing, money laundering, and related crimes.