Country Report on Terrorism 2023 - Chapter 1 - Paraguay

Overview:  In 2023 the Government of Paraguay continued to be a receptive partner on counterterrorism cooperation with the United States, despite a lack of resources and pervasive corruption that limited the government’s capacity.  Paraguay’s challenges on CT cooperation stem from ineffective immigration, customs, financial, and law enforcement controls throughout the country and along its porous borders, particularly the Tri-Border Area (TBA) with Argentina and Brazil as well as its dry border with Brazil from the TBA to Pedro Juan Caballero.

Since 2008 the Paraguayan People’s Army (EPP), a small domestic criminal group, has conducted violent acts meant to extort and intimidate the population and local governments in the northern departments of Amambay, Concepción, and San Pedro.  Paraguayan authorities officially consider the EPP and its offshoots – the Ejército del Mariscal López (EML) and Agrupación Campesina Armada (ACA) – as organized criminal groups rather than terrorist organizations.  However, in public remarks, Paraguayan leaders occasionally refer to them informally as terrorists.

In October 2022 the Government of Paraguay’s Joint Task Force killed EPP leader Osvaldo Villalba moments after Villalba executed two Indigenous persons he believed were cooperating with the authorities.  The Government of Paraguay believes the death of Villalba severely degraded the EPP’s operational capabilities and estimates the group currently contains fewer than 20 members.  The activities of the ACA, the EML, and the EPP have consisted largely of isolated attacks either on remote police and army posts, or against ranchers and peasants accused of aiding Paraguayan security forces.  Ranchers and ranch workers in northeastern Paraguay, including members of the Mennonite community, claimed the EPP frequently threatened both their livelihoods and personal security.  Three individuals – including former-Vice President Oscar Denis – remained missing after kidnappings attributed to the EPP.

On January 26 the U.S. government announced Global Magnitsky Act sanctions against former-President Horacio Cartes and then-Vice President Hugo Velázquez, noting their ties to Hizballah.

2023 Terrorist Incidents:  On October 9 a group of suspected EPP members shot and killed a member of an Indigenous community in Amambay who was a former EPP member.

Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security:  Paraguay passed no new terrorism-related legislation in 2023.

Paraguay’s efforts to provide more effective law enforcement and border security suffered from a lack of interagency cooperation and information sharing, a chronic lack of resources, and pervasive corruption within security, border control, and judicial institutions.  The TBA remained particularly vulnerable, as the ineffective – and often corrupt – police, military, customs, and migration agency presence along these borders allowed for a largely unregulated flow of people, goods, and money.

Paraguay struggles to deter terrorist travel.  On October 9, Tabti Fares, believed by Paraguayan National Police (PNP) to be affiliated with Hamas, entered Paraguay irregularly through the Chaco region.  Though the PNP had conducted surveillance on the bus that Fares boarded to Asunción, he nevertheless evaded capture.  Paraguay received international assistance to better utilize Advance Passenger Information and improve its border screening technology and capabilities.

Countering the Financing of Terrorism:  Paraguay is a member of GAFILAT (the Financial Action Task Force of Latin America), and its Financial Intelligence Unit is a member of the Egmont Group.  There were no significant changes in 2023.

Countering Violent Extremism:  Paraguay had no programs in countering violent extremism in 2023.

International and Regional Cooperation:  The country continued to support CT efforts in regional and multilateral organizations, including by participating in CICTE.  Paraguay continued to collaborate with Argentina and Brazil on border security initiatives, regional exchanges, and law enforcement projects.  The three countries coordinated law enforcement efforts in the TBA through their Trilateral Tri-Border Area Command.