PARAGUAY · US POLICY · SECURITY
Key Facts
- —The country Paraguay is a landlocked country bordering Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia, led by President Santiago Peña of the Colorado Party. It is the only South American nation among Taiwan’s 12 diplomatic allies and a close US partner.
- —Why it matters US goods exports to Paraguay reached US$4.4 billion in 2025, up 39.9% from 2024, and Washington now wants US companies to invest there.
- —Why now US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau is in Paraguay from Monday 19 October on a trip that runs to 26 October and also takes in Argentina.
- —What happened On Monday 19 October Landau met President Peña in Asunción, then signed two security documents with Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano.
- —The deals One covers cooperation on intercepting suspect civil aircraft, with shared radar data and intelligence. The other is a memorandum of intent to give Paraguay a US border-screening system called PISCES.
- —Power Index Paraguay ranks 10th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 36.0 points (October 2026 edition).
- —Still open The full texts could not be found, no company has been named and no investment figure has been announced.
Paraguay and the United States signed two security deals in Asunción on Monday 19 October, during a visit by US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau. One sets up cooperation on intercepting suspect civil aircraft, and the other brings a US border-screening system known as PISCES to Paraguay’s entry points.
For US readers, the deals show Washington building its drug-flight and migration agenda into a partnership with one of its closest friends in South America. Landau is also leading a delegation of US companies, so the security and business tracks run side by side.
This follows our earlier report on the start of the trip, US No. 2 Diplomat Tours Brazil’s Neighbours, which looked at the timing against Brazil’s runoff. It adds what happened in Asunción on the first day.
What Happened in Asunción
President Santiago Peña received Landau at the Palacio de López, the seat of government, on Monday, with Vice President Pedro Alliana, Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano and some cabinet members present, La Nación reported. Landau, who lived in Asunción as a boy when his father, George Landau, was US ambassador from 1972 to 1977, then made a statement to the press without taking questions, ABC Color and EFE reported.
“We have never seen these levels of cooperation that suit both countries,” Landau told reporters, in words translated from the Spanish that La Nación and ABC Color published. He said Paraguay “plays a very key role” in Washington’s renewed attention to the Western Hemisphere, and that investors will find “many win-win situations” there.
The Two Agreements
Later on Monday, at the Foreign Ministry, Landau and Ramírez Lezcano signed two documents, according to the ministry’s statement as published by La Nación and ABC Color. The first is an exchange of notes on cooperation in aerial interceptions of civil aircraft, meant to set a framework for interception procedures under each country’s laws and international law.
Under it, the statement says, surveillance of Paraguay’s airspace will be strengthened through an exchange of information, radar data, intelligence and technical assistance, as part of the fight against drug trafficking and other illicit activity. The US Embassy in Asunción, on X, called it an Air Interception Assistance Agreement that “will strengthen Paraguay’s capacity to monitor and protect its sovereignty against suspicious flights”.
The second document is a memorandum of intent on border security, under which the United States will provide the Personal Identification Secure Comparison and Evaluation System, or PISCES, with training for Paraguayan staff. EFE describes it as a tool that matches fingerprints and facial recognition with biographical data in real time, and the ministry says it is meant to tighten migration checks and track passenger movements.
Why the Air Agreement Matters
Paraguay’s 2022 airspace law, Law 6980, lets the Air Force commander authorise interception of suspected drug flights, first by ordering them to land and then by firing tracer rounds as warning shots. It bars officials from destroying a civil aircraft in service except in self-defence, though it does not bar lethal force when they face armed resistance from a crew, and EFE recalled that in 2023 Interior Minister Enrique Riera admitted a 90,000-hectare “black hole” in the Chaco with no air surveillance.
A proposal to add an explicit shoot-down power was raised in Congress in July 2025, and the executive opposed it, ABC Color reported at the time. On Monday ABC Color added that Washington also opposes such a law as a breach of international law, but the Rio Times found no US statement saying so, and nothing in the published descriptions of the new agreement mentions shooting down aircraft.
The Business Track and the Rest of the Visit
Landau travels with Juan Pablo Segura, the Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, who was sworn in on 14 August 2026 after serving as Virginia’s secretary of commerce and trade. The State Department’s media note of 16 October says Landau will lead a trade delegation of US companies to explore investment opportunities in Paraguay, but the department has not named a single company.
Paraguayan outlets list a floral offering at the National Pantheon of the Heroes, working tables with local business groups and a technical visit to the Itaipú Binacional hydroelectric plant, which Paraguay shares with Brazil, among the planned stops. Peña said he would accompany much of the programme from Monday to Wednesday, and Hoy reports that Landau stays until Wednesday 21 October before going on to Buenos Aires.
The Trade Behind the Talks
The US Trade Representative’s office puts US goods exports to Paraguay at US$4.4 billion in 2025, up 39.9% from 2024, against US$558.8 million of imports, a goods surplus of US$3.9 billion. Counting services, two-way trade reached an estimated US$5.7 billion, up 35.5%, under a trade and investment framework agreement that took effect in 2021.
A Run of US Agreements
Monday’s signings extend a run of US-Paraguay agreements, including the Status of Forces Agreement on joint military training, which EFE dates to December while ABC Color reported Peña signing it with Landau in Chile on 11 March 2026, a day after the lower house completed its approval. Ramírez Lezcano also went to the State Department on 14 August 2025 to sign a Safe Third Country Agreement, hosted by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, that lets asylum seekers in the United States pursue claims in Paraguay, and he and Rubio signed a civil nuclear memorandum in early August 2026.
Taiwan’s foreign ministry lists Paraguay as the only South American country among its 12 diplomatic allies, and on 12 October Beijing announced sanctions on Paraguay’s technology minister, Gustavo Villate, and on Belize’s foreign minister, as our earlier report covered. No Paraguayan or US statement the Rio Times found links Landau’s visit to that dispute.
What It Means for You
For US companies, the State Department is sending a trade delegation to explore investment in Paraguay, but no deal, company name or dollar figure has been announced, so the only hard numbers so far are trade statistics. The delegation’s makeup is the first thing to watch, because it will show which sectors are interested.
For readers following US counter-drug and migration policy, the air and PISCES agreements tie Paraguay more closely to US surveillance and border screening. How much data flows to US agencies is not stated in any published description.
What Is Not Known
The Rio Times could not find the texts of the exchange of notes or the memorandum, so their terms, funding, duration and any limits on US personnel or data access are unknown. It is also not known who will operate PISCES in Paraguay, what it will cost or how soon it will be installed.
The State Department has not named the US companies in the delegation or said whether an investment announcement is planned. Landau wrote that he would spend three days in Paraguay and only two in Argentina, La Nación quoted him as saying, which leaves part of the 19 to 26 October window unaccounted for, and outlets differ on whether he landed on Sunday or early Monday.
More: Paraguay news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Christopher Landau?
Christopher Landau is the US Deputy Secretary of State, the second-ranking official at the State Department, and a former US ambassador to Mexico. He lived in Asunción from 1972 to 1977, when his father was US ambassador to Paraguay.
What did Paraguay and the US sign on 19 October?
They signed an exchange of notes on cooperation in aerial interceptions of civil aircraft and a memorandum of intent on border security. The second brings the US PISCES screening system to Paraguay’s entry points, with training.
What is PISCES?
PISCES stands for Personal Identification Secure Comparison and Evaluation System, a US-provided tool for checking travellers at borders. EFE describes it as matching fingerprints and facial recognition with biographical data in real time.
Does the air agreement allow Paraguay to shoot down planes?
No published description of the agreement mentions shooting down aircraft, and the Rio Times could not find the texts. Paraguay’s 2022 airspace law bars destroying a civil aircraft in service except in self-defence, though it does not bar lethal force against armed resistance from a crew.
How much does the US trade with Paraguay?
The US Trade Representative’s office estimates two-way trade in goods and services at US$5.7 billion in 2025, up 35.5% from 2024. US goods exports were US$4.4 billion and imports were US$558.8 million.
Where does Landau go next?
After Paraguay he travels to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the State Department says the whole trip runs from 19 to 26 October. The department has not published the date of each stop.
Sources: US State Department, Deputy Secretary Landau’s Travel to Paraguay and Argentina, media note of 16 October 2026, US State Department, biography of Christopher Landau, US State Department, biography of Juan Pablo Segura, Christopher Landau on X, announcing the trip, US Embassy in Paraguay on X, Air Interception Assistance Agreement, 19 October 2026, US Embassy in Paraguay on X, Landau’s return to the embassy, 19 October 2026, US State Department, Signing of a Safe Third Country Agreement with Paraguay, 14 August 2025, US Embassy in Paraguay, Secretary Rubio’s remarks at the civil nuclear memorandum signing, August 2026, Office of the US Trade Representative, Paraguay trade summary, Paraguay, Law 6980 on surveillance and protection of Paraguayan airspace, promulgated 6 October 2022, Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Diplomatic Allies, La Nación, Paraguay and the US agree cooperation on intercepting suspect flights, 19 October 2026, La Nación, Landau stresses cooperation with Paraguay, 19 October 2026, La Nación, Peña receives the deputy secretary, 19 October 2026, La Nación, for Landau the visit is a high priority, 18 October 2026, La Nación, economy and security on Landau’s agenda, 17 October 2026, ABC Color, Paraguay signs air interception cooperation with the US, 19 October 2026, ABC Color, Landau after visiting Peña, 19 October 2026, ABC Color, shoot-down law and the executive, 8 July 2025, ABC Color, Peña signs the SOFA agreement after meeting Landau, 11 March 2026, ABC Color, the civil nuclear agreement, 4 August 2026, ABC Color, Taiwan condemns China’s sanctions on a Paraguayan minister, 12 October 2026, EFE via Infobae, US and Paraguay sign air interception and migration cooperation agreements, 19 October 2026, EFE via Infobae, Landau from Paraguay, 19 October 2026, Hoy, Landau stresses Paraguay’s potential, 19 October 2026, La Tribuna, Landau begins his official tour, 19 October 2026, Última Hora, Landau visit, 19 October 2026, RDN, Landau seeks mutual benefits with Paraguay, 19 October 2026. All retrieved on 20 October 2026. The Foreign Ministry’s own statement could not be opened from the Rio Times desk, so its wording is taken from the outlets that published it.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief