A state of emergency has been declared in the Brazilian border town of Guaraciaba. The storm damaged 70% of the buildings, as well as power lines and communications, in the town with the population of 10,000.

At least 10 people died and 50 were injured when the storm, described as "a violent tornado," hit the town of Santa Rosa in the northeastern Argentinean province of Misiones

The storm also damaged homes in Paraguay.

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San Pedro mayor Orlando Wolfart described the devastation as "incredible".

"This is something we've never seen," he told reporters.

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In Paraguay there were reports that 700 rural properties, as well as crops, had been damaged.

The temperature in the capital Asuncion fell from 35C to 12C.

Jun 8th, 2010


Dr. Maria Velez de Berliner said that the “FARC is not interested in attacking the U.S, they don’t have the field capability to do so.” However, she warns that FARC’s business with other terrorists and drug traffickers does threaten the U.S.

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She also mentioned that the FARC is working with Chinese gangs in the tri-border area of Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. These gangs could potentially buy and upgrade the FARC’s semi-submersibles and use them in their human trafficking efforts, allowing them to potentially insert operatives into the U.S.

Al-Qaeda also will benefit from the FARC’s new ventures, and could conceivably pay them, or the Mexican drug lords, to help them smuggle in operatives. In fact, Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Somalia, Al-Shabaab, may have already done so as someone connected to the group oversaw the smuggling of 270 Somalis into the U.S. through Mexico.

June 09, 2010


“International terrorist groups, including Hamas and Hezbollah, have also reportedly raised funding for their terrorist activities through linkages formed with DTOs in South America, particularly those operating in the tri-border area (TBA) of Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina,” stated CRS in an April 30 report.

(AFP) – 2 days ago


Interpol said Tuesday it has arrested a Lebanese national suspected of funneling money to the Shiite militant group Hezbollah in Paraguay in the tri-border area with Argentina and Brazil.

Moussa Hamdan, 38, was arrested in Ciudad del Este, part of the Triple Frontier, a region the United States has repeatedly cited as being exploited by militant groups that "finance terrorist activities."

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The Interpol chief in Paraguay, Jose Chena, said justice officials would decide within about six weeks whether to extradite Hamdan to the United States, where an arrest warrant has been issued against him.

05 January 2011


An appeals court in Paraguay on Tuesday ruled in favor of extraditing a Lebanese man wanted in the United States on charges linked to raising funds for the militant group Hezbollah.

Moussa Ali Hamdan, 38, was arrested in mid-June 2010 in a hotel in Ciudad del Este, the hub of the busy and often lawless tri-border area between Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay.

07/08/2011

It’s known that Hezbollah has established itself in the tri-border area (TBA) of South America where Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay meet.

Support from South American countries like Bolivia and Venezuela has allowed Hezbollah to operate freely in South America. The group’s ties to the Iranian government, paired with Iran’s interest in relationships with South American countries, could be a recipe for disaster, some experts say.

Other experts on the panel agreed that at the moment Hezbollah didn’t present an immediate threat, but they said that it could in the future.

Witnesses suggested Hezbollah was positioning in the Americas as a defense in case United States attacked Iran.

The Brazilian military has sent thousands of troops to the country's Western border to combat drug and weapons smuggling.

The operation involving the country's army, navy and air force is meant to target illegal activities and exert more control over its vast borders.