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Tighter Controls on the Brazilian-Paraguayan Frontier in South
America`s Notorious Tri-Border Region Have Provoked Protests by Small
Businessmen and Traders.
Since Sept. 11, western intelligence agencies have focused their
attention on the region where Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay intersect --
a hotbed of smuggling where an estimated 100,000 Muslim immigrants
live.
Earlier this week Brazilian customs authorities announced they were
tightening border controls at the Friendship Bridge that links Paraguay`s
Ciudad del Este city with Brazil`s Foz de Iguazu.
Beginning Tuesday, they said, only vehicles belonging to authorized
firms will be allowed across the frontier, a decision which affects 1,000
shuttle trading taxis and vans and 400 motorcyclists who regularly cross
into Brazil transporting goods requested by Brazilian customers.
That day, Paraguayan businessmen, taxi and truck drivers in Ciudad del
Este blocked the bridge across the Parana River in protest over the new
strict Brazilian controls.
EFE news agency reported that the action stranded thousands of people
on both sides of the border.
Ciudad del Este is Paraguay`s main trade export center.
In 2005, the Paraguayan Import Center reported that 50,000 small
Brazilian buyers cross the Friendship Bridge each week to purchase
products in Ciudad del Este, including computers, electronics, perfumes,
liquor and other items.
Brazilian government officials maintain that the border is a major
source of counterfeit and smuggled goods along with weapons and drugs,
which wind up on the streets of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
The Ciudad del Este business association and local authorities have
requested a meeting with Paraguayan President Nicanor Duarte to discuss
the new restrictions.
Since the Sept. 11, attacks the Bush administration has remained highly
concerned about the tri-border region as a potential portal for transit
and funding of Muslim terrorist groups. In 2002, the Treasury Department
concluded that there are 'clear examples' of regional Islamic extremist
groups that 'finance terrorist activities,' including al-Qaida, Islamic
Jihad, Hezbollah and Egypt`s al-Gamaat al-Islamiyah.
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