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Threat Convergence Revisiting the Crime-Terrorism Nexus in the Tri-Border Area
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TTCVR1208 - Threat Convergence - Report - Tri-Border Area (04E)

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Page 1: TTCVR1208 - Threat Convergence - Report - Tri-Border Area (04E)

Threat Convergence

Revisiting the Crime-Terrorism Nexus in the Tri-Border Area

Page 2: TTCVR1208 - Threat Convergence - Report - Tri-Border Area (04E)

The Fund for Peace is an independent, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) non-profit research and educational

organization that works to prevent violent conflict and promote sustainable security. We promote

sustainable security through research, training and education, engagement of civil society, building

bridges across diverse sectors, and developing innovative technologies and tools for policy makers.

A leader in the conflict assessment and early warning field, the Fund for Peace focuses on the

problems of weak and failing states. Our objective is to create practical tools and approaches for

conflict mitigation that are useful to decision-makers.

Copyright © 2012 The Fund for Peace.

All rights reserved.

This program description is proprietary to The Fund for Peace.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written consent from The Fund for Peace.

The Fund for Peace Transnational Threats

Threat Convergence Report Series Editor

Patricia Taft

Report Written by

Felipe Umaña

The Fund for Peace Publication FFP : TTCVR1208 (Version 04E)

Circulation: PUBLIC

The Fund for Peace

1720 I Street NW, 7

Washington, D.C. 20006

T: +1 202 223 7940

F: +1 202 223 7947

www.fundforpeace.org

2 The Fund for Peace www.fundforpeace.org

55th Anniversary 1957-2012

Page 3: TTCVR1208 - Threat Convergence - Report - Tri-Border Area (04E)

Introduction & Contents

The Tri-Border Area is formed by the

junction of three different cities: Puerto

Iguazú, Argentina; Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil; and

Ciudad del Este, Paraguay. Located in the

eastern-central part of the Southern Cone in

South America, the triple frontier region is

known for its impressive Iguaçu Falls – a

group of cataracts that draw over 700,000

tourists each year – and other natural sites

throughout the the Iguazú National Park. The

region is also notable for being the home of

the world’s largest hydroelectric plant, the

Itaipu Dam.

Demographically, the area is very ethnically

diverse. In addition to the native

Paraguayans, Brazilians, and Argentine

populations, there are also substantial

pockets of people of Chinese, Colombian,

Iranian, Italian, Korean, Lebanese, Palestinian,

Taiwanese, and Ukrainian descent. The triple

frontier boasts a large Arab minority

presence of around 10,000 and 75,000

people, mostly from Lebanon and Palestine.1

Of the three cities that form the Tri-Border

Area, Ciudad del Este is the largest and

busiest, serving as the region’s economic

center. Its streets are regularly clogged with

street merchants, shoppers, cambistas

(informal currency exchangers), and others

that help fuel its burgeoning economy. In

fact, Ciudad del Este has ranked third

worldwide in cash transactions, averaging

well over US$12 billion annually in the early

2000s.2 Foz do Iguaçu, which boasts some of

the region’s most frequented tourist

destinations (including Latin America’s

largest mosque), is the second largest city.

Puerto Iguazú rounds out the trio in terms of

population size.

Along with its increasing economic and

environmental value, the region has also

risen in relevance after the September 11,

2001 terrorist attacks as an area attractive to

global terrorist organizations. The region is

largely ungoverned due to weak, inadequate,

or ignored laws. A myriad of shadowy black

markets, pirated CDs, stolen cars, falsified

documentation, and trafficked humans –

among other commoditized “goods” – all

pass through this region either completely

undetected or with tacit acceptance from the

local governments. Money laundering and tax

evasion also form part of the colorful gamut

of illegality that runs rampant in what a

reporter has termed as “a terrorist’s

paradise.”3 High rates of violence and petty

crime also plague the region, and exist in

tandem with poor money laundering controls

and low government preparedness. All of

these activities occur under the purview of

corrupt officials, whose expanse throughout

the governmental establishment lends

continued permanence to the activities in the

region. According to a study conducted by the

U.S. Government, the triple frontier region

generates over US$6 billion in illicit finance.4

Law enforcement officials in the region suffer

from low pay and inadequate training (if any),

while working at institutions with hardly any

funding.

Equally as disconcerting is the fact that the

region is suspected of harboring financing

links with numerous iniquitous non-state

actor organizations. Scholars and terrorism

experts say that the Tri-Border Area is

increasingly becoming a focal point for

Islamic fundamentalism. In fact, the Tri-

Border Area has been called “the most

important center for financing Islamic

terrorism outside the Middle East.”5 Because

of the lax security apparatus, rampant

lawlessness, and illicit activity, American

officials believe that the Tri-Border Area

serves as a haven for terrorist organizations

and criminals alike – non-state actors who

destabilize the region and pose security

problems for countries worldwide.

Illicit Activities in the Tri-Border Area 4 Travel Within the Region 4

Black Markets and Other Activities 5 Organized Crime 9 Crime-Terrorism Nexus 10 Recent Law Enforcement Efforts 11 Argentina 12

Brazil 13

Paraguay 14 Recommendations 16 Conclusion 17 Endnotes 18 About The Fund for Peace 22

3 The Fund for Peace www.fundforpeace.org

Tri-Border Area Crime and Terrorism

Overview

This report is a follow-up to FFP’s 2009

report, The Crime-Terrorism Nexus: Risks in

the Tri-Border Area , available at:

www.fundforpeace.org/global/?q=ttcvr0905

Page 4: TTCVR1208 - Threat Convergence - Report - Tri-Border Area (04E)

Tri-Border Area Crime and Terrorism

Illicit Activities in the Tri-Border Area

4 The Fund for Peace www.fundforpeace.org

The atmosphere of an almost non-

existent police apparatus in the Tri-Border

Area provides a breeding ground for all sorts

of illicit activities. As occurs in the licit

economy, goods that pass through the black

markets are produced (or acquired) illegally,

transported through covert means, and sold

to buyers around the world. Below is a brief

introduction to the directions and routes

black market commodities travel on in the Tri

-Border Area.

Ciudad del Este is the largest commercial

center of the triple frontier cities and also

serves as the primary hub for most illicit

economies in the tripartite border. Some

30,000 to 40,000 people6 per day cross the

Friendship Bridge that connects Ciudad del

Este to Foz do Iguaçu. Most of those crossing

are transporters – couriers, runners, and

smugglers (known as sacoleiros, laranjas, and

camélos in Brazilian Portuguese and paseros

and balseros in Spanish). Typically,

transporters form part of a larger network of

black market vendors, although many do

enjoy a fair amount of autonomy.7 These

transporters carry goods like electronics,

subsidized agricultural products, and toys

across the bridge and over the Paraná River

(both on water and over the bridge) to Ciudad

del Este where they will sell the goods at

lower prices to unsuspecting tourists or well-

informed and thrifty shoppers. Illicitly

shuttled items avoid cross-border taxation

and allow vendors to acquire a larger profit

margin. However, not all traffic moves in the

direction of Ciudad del Este. Around 25,000

Paraguayans cross the Paraná every day into

Foz do Iguaçu in Brazil.8 Groceries and other

goods are also transported from Ciudad del

Este and Foz do Iguaçu to Puerto Iguazú in

Argentina, demonstrating a multidirectional

flow to all three cities in the tri-border

junction.

Human travel in the region is equally as

uncomplicated. Thanks to very lax custom

laws, motorbikes9 and automobiles10 are

hardly checked at border stops in any of the

three cities. Indeed, one report describes how

only after journalists were detected in the

immediate vicinity, were custom control

centers erected to regulate the points of

entry.11

Travel Within the Region

Brazil

Argentina

Paraguay

Tri-Border Area

PARAGUAY

ARGENTINA

BRAZIL

Foz do Iguaçu

Puerto Iguazú

Ciudad del Este

South America

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5 The Fund for Peace www.fundforpeace.org

A weak and minimal government

presence in Ciudad del Este, Foz do Iguaçu,

and Puerto Iguazú has led to the appearance

of several strong illicit economies.

Identification and Document Fraud

The false reproduction or creation of

documents and legal certificates lets devious

actors evade detection when conducting

nefarious activities. Similarly, fraudulent

documentation lets these actors bypass

established legal framework and avoid

taxation, authorized routes, and regulation

from government entities. Identity document

fraud can also help illegal immigrants acquire

the “proper” documents to work, travel, and

live in the region. Other falsified documents

provided in the Tri-Border Area can include

travel documents (such as passports and

visas), birth certificates, business credentials,

driver’s licenses, and shipment certificates.

Counterfeit credentials also tie black markets

to terrorist factions and organized crime

syndicates. There are alleged links between

Venezuela and numerous individual criminals

specializing in identity fraud in the triple

frontier, where birth certificates bearing

Spanish names have been handed out to

company executives originating from the

Middle East and surrounding areas.

Paraguay’s Office of the Public Prosecutor in

Asunción has knowledge of at least two cases

of companies in the Tri-Border Area whose

owners conspicuously speak only Arabic or

English, despite having Spanish names.12

Aside from the Ciudad del Este market, there

is also a strong fake ID and passport industry

presence in Foz do Iguaçu, which is embroiled

in city-wide rackets and serves about 570

illegal immigrants per year.13

Counterfeiting and Smuggling of Consumer

Products

Counterfeiting and the sale of smuggled

consumer products are very common in the

streets of the Tri-Border Area. Illegally

transported or falsified commodities can

include liquor, sporting goods, toys,

diamonds and other precious minerals, exotic

animals (most of them endangered species),

books, prescription drugs, and clothing.

However, the most popular items are all

electronics. Products like video cameras,

music players, television sets, videocassette

machines, computers, CDs, computer

software, and video games are particularly

common, and the theft of intellectual

property that results from this trade cost

global industries an estimated US$1.5

billion.14

Companies like Canon, Kodak, Motorola,

Nintendo, and Sony have been amongst the

most affected by this black market. Most of

the counterfeited electronics are of Asian

origin and are smuggled into the region by

criminal syndicates from China, Hong Kong,

Macau, or Japan, and other Asian countries. A

smuggling route was discovered by

Paraguayan investigators that linked the

Chilean city Iquique to Ciudad del Este; the

city of Iquique serves as a transit point for

goods traveling within the Barakat network.15

A strong East Asian community network

quickly helps disperse the illicit cargo from

Asia and prepares it for sale in the busy

commercial districts of Ciudad del Este and

Foz do Iguaçu. Many of the merchants in the

triple frontier have links to criminal

organizations and assuredly help finance

militant operations in the immediate area or

abroad.

Canon, Kodak, Motorola, and Nintendo, have

all hired private investigators to track

counterfeiting initiatives in the region.

Through numerous investigations, Motorola

discovered that counterfeit batteries that

look just like the real manufactured batteries

are being illicitly produced and sold in

Ciudad del Este.16 However, these forged

batteries overheat and can explode after

prolonged use, and create severe problems

with the safety of consumers unbeknownst to

the dangers of these bogus electronics.

Drug Trafficking

As a region known for its agricultural output,

South America is no stranger to drug

production and trafficking. The triple frontier

is a well-known trafficking hub for stimulants,

narcotics, and opiates like cannabis; cocaine

and its freebase variant crack, that come from

Andean countries like Colombia and Bolivia.

Licit drugs, like Viagra and cigarettes, are also

objects of smuggling and enter the illicit

economy to avoid regulation or taxation.

Such is the volume of drugs passing through

the region that Argentine officials estimate

that some 1.5 metric tons of cocaine are

smuggled through the Tri-Border Area per

annum.17

Traffickers in the region have devised routes

with minimal government presence, such as a

Bolivia-Paraguay-Brazil corridor that passes

through Ciudad del Este and Foz do Iguaçu

and ends in the Brazilian port cities of

Paranaguá, Santos, and Rio de Janeiro.18

Indeed, most of the drugs that pass through

the region enter Foz do Iguaçu and into Brazil

where they are transported to Brazil’s coast

for onward transit to North America or Africa

or for domestic consumption. In 2007,

Black Markets and Other Criminal Activities

Illicit Activities in the Tri-Border Area

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6 The Fund for Peace www.fundforpeace.org

Brazil’s Secretaria de Receita Federal –

Brazil’s equivalent to the Internal Revenue

Service – issued a report on the counterfeited

goods that customs officials in Foz do Iguaçu

confiscated in a period of three months, from

January to March 2007. The government brief

stated that 475 kg of marijuana, 187 kg of

cocaine, and 4.11 kg of crack were seized in

these three months, while also documenting

a 27% increase from 2006.19

Aside from land and sea routes, air paths are

also commonly employed. Clandestine air

strips in rural Paraguay and in the Argentine

province of Misiones are not uncommon, with

over 100 having been reportedly detected by

Argentine intelligence.20 Aircraft are often

stolen and repainted and hidden in camps

owned by Paraguayan and Argentine

criminals.21

However, cigarettes outsell all other illicit

drugs and are the most profitable of the

smuggled goods in the Tri-Border Area. Most

underground cigarettes are produced in

Paraguay (with more than 30 manufacturing

plants alone) and are smuggled into other

countries in order to avoid paying taxes. From

Ciudad del Este, the major smuggling routes

for cigarettes include:

• To Guaíra (a major drug trade node city in

Brazil 150 miles from Ciudad del Este) by

boat across the Paraná, and are sent to São

Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and other large

Brazilian cities;

• North to the U.S.’s East Coast and Indian

reservations in the American southwest;

• To Caribbean and Central American

destinations, like Aruba and Panama; or

• Across the Atlantic Ocean to Ireland for the

European markets and beyond.22

Cigarettes in the Tri-Border Area are also

made cheaply in mobile factories, called

“submarinos”, where people assemble ersatz

cigarettes in the back of their trucks. Aside

from well-known brands like Marlboro, others

like Eight, Te, Rodeo, and Calvert are sold out

in the open in markets in the Tri-Border Area

for about a $1.50. Paraguay also boasts more

than 2,600 “brands” of cigarettes, all of

which have been registered with the

Paraguay Ministry of Industry and Commerce,

with names like “Dirty”, “Fidel”, “Hamlet” and

“Opus Dei”.23

Some 68 billion cigarettes are manufactured

in the Tri-Border Area region, with 90% of

them going into the black market. These

cigarettes also account for 20% of the

world’s cigarette market, which not only

demonstrates the strength of the cigarette

smuggling networks in the triple frontier, but

also the efficiency with which criminals in the

region work to keep up the strength of this

black market.24

Arms Trade

The arms trade has a strong connection with

non-state actor groups like the Chechen

mafia, the FARC, and Hezbollah. Because of

these strong links with criminal associations

and terrorist cells, the smuggling of arms and

the open sale of weapons in the Tri-Border

Area has received a lot of attention from

governments in the region and abroad.

Weapons production is not a large industry in

the immediate region of the Tri-Border Area.

Instead, the region depends on strong links

with insidious groups that introduce licitly-

purchased weapons to the black market

through diversion and theft, or “do-it-

yourself” manufacturing.

Diversion is the easiest way for groups to

acquire contraband guns. Argentina and

Brazil, as two of the largest arms producing

countries in Latin America, both experience

losses in weapons shipment diversion. In

addition, arms are smuggled into Paraguay –

whose lax and very porous borders decreases

the possibility of detection – and sold in

Ciudad del Este, where they are later

transported through Foz do Iguaçu into

Brazil.25 The bribing of police at checkpoints

is also common. For entry to Paraguay,

customs officials and police have reportedly

accepted rates of up to 20 reales26 per unit of

guns (roughly US$12), while Argentine and

Brazilian officials have accepted 150 pesos

(US$35) and 100 reales (US$58) per unit,

respectively.27

AK-47 and even AR-15 rifles have become

more and more common in the Tri-Border

Area, with shops in Ciudad del Este selling

them to anyone who enters their store. In

street bazaars, an AK-47 can cost as low as

US$375.28 Even more worrisome than street

gangs or simple criminals obtaining illicit

weaponry is the heavy involvement of

criminal associations and terrorist groups,

many of which are known to dominate the

arms trade in the triple frontier. The Islamic

fundamentalist group Hezbollah, for instance,

is known for transporting large shipments of

weapons acquired illicitly in the Americas

and shipping them off to Lebanon and Syria.

In July 2010, Moussa Hamdan, a Hezbollah

operative, was arrested by Interpol in the Tri-

Border Area after he was suspected of

financing weapon smuggling to the U.S. and

Syria. A few months before, it was discovered

that Hamdan had plans to export 1,200

American-manufactured Colt M-4 machine

guns to the Middle East. Hezbollah’s grasp on

the arms trade is a big chunk of the US$2-3

billion the fundamentalist makes annually in

cross-border smuggling.29

Illicit Activities in the Tri-Border Area

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7 The Fund for Peace www.fundforpeace.org

Criminal syndicates with militant profiles,

like the Chechen mafia and the FARC, are also

intimately involved with arms trafficking.

Chechen criminals actively use routes that

start in the Tri-Border Area and end in

Colombia and Brazil’s east coast. Moreover,

they utilize drug trafficking contacts and

employ money launderers that help with

transportation and the occluding of a trace of

illicit arms shipments. Chechen criminals

primarily deal AK-47s and AR-15s.30 The

FARC31 is reported to operate near the Iguaçu

Falls and along Brazil’s border with Paraguay,

which facilitates cross-border movement

between both countries.32

Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation

The junction of Paraguay, Argentina, and

Brazil experiences its fair share of human

smuggling, a burgeoning trade involving

commoditized human beings sold for sexual

exploitation through prostitution, domestic

servitude, or slavery. Individuals are also

smuggled into the region for profit as many

of those seeking entry to Brazil, Paraguay, or

Argentina, pass through the Tri-Border Area.

Young men and women, and even boys and

girls under the age of 16 are trafficked into

the Tri-Border Area where they are sold

illicitly. Young women are typically sold for

US$15, and are rarely over the age of 23.

However, there is no minimum age limit.33

Most of the victims are lured by the promise

of work or money from rural provinces in

Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina. The Misiones

Province, which is the thin strip of Argentina

that extends itself into the triple frontier, is

particularly notorious for its trafficking

activities and is said to provide a “constant

flow of boys, girls, and adolescents” to

neighboring regions.34 Nevertheless, much of

the cross-border trafficking is now

originating from Brazil, where the U.S. State

Department says between a quarter and a

half million children are sold to prostitution.

Indigenous communities in Puerto Iguazú,

who ignore modern political borders and

adhere to ancestral territorial customs, travel

relatively freely in the Tri-Border Area and

establish camps in all three countries. Their

unregulated travel facilitates the movement

of trafficked individuals, creating a human

trafficker haven. Law enforcement officials,

especially those at the local level, are also

occasionally complicit on the trafficking.35

The triple frontier region can also serve as a

node in an expansive network of human

smuggling hotspots, with routes that end in

Bolivia, Chile, Italy, and Spain, as well as in

Argentina (Córdoba, Rosario, Bahía Blanca)

and Brazil (São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro)

themselves. However, because the triple

frontier is a popular child sex tourist spot,36

wealthy individuals from European countries,

the United States, and Canada come to the Tri

-Border Area to take advantage of the

region’s blind eye.37 In order to evade

discovery, traffickers move their victims

along established drug routes – since many of

the criminals are also involved in the illicit

drug trade.38

Money Laundering and Group Financing

As a center of high commercial activity, the

Tri-Border Area has to contend with a high

instance of financial transactions, with

currency flowing strongly to and from the

region. With such a high traffic for money

transactions, crimes like money laundering

are commonly employed to help cover

criminal tracks. Because the triple frontier

serves as a hub for a myriad of criminal

activities, money laundering services very

common in the Tri-Border Area. All the three

countries have lenient currency importation

laws, but one major worry is that

transnational criminal organizations and

terrorist groups with a presence in the region

might be using these blind spots to hide the

provenance of “dirty money” and help

finance terrorist operations in the region and

abroad.

Paraguay’s Ciudad del Este is the conspicuous

center of money laundering in the Tri-Border

Area. With a population of about 321,000

people, Ciudad del Este has around 55 banks

and countless informal foreign exchange

shops, not counting the autonomous street

cambistas that exchange foreign currency for

a standard rate (other cities of comparable

size typically average only 5-10 banking

facilities). Money laundering laws are hardly

enforced in Paraguay, which may even view

the laundering of funds as a venerable

business, and definitely as a luring tool to

bring foreigners into Ciudad del Este.

According to the U.S. Department of State’s

2009 International Narcotics Control Strategy

Report, the government of Paraguay is only

just beginning to acknowledge and address

the problem of money laundering and its ties

to global cash smuggling.39

Brazilian authorities have estimated that

some US$6 billion worth of illicit funds are

introduced and laundered in the triple

frontier. It is said that reinforced trucks

loaded up with laundered money leave

Ciudad del Este to Foz do Iguaçu after

hours.40 Smuggled cash from Ciudad del Este

and Foz do Iguaçu is also transported to

banking centers in the United States via

nodes in Uruguay and Brazil.

Money laundering is linked to all criminal

pursuits conducted in the Tri-Border Area,

Illicit Activities in the Tri-Border Area

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8 The Fund for Peace www.fundforpeace.org

including organized crime and terrorist

financing. Drug trafficking groups, for

instance, are said to generate an estimated

40% of all money laundering activities in

Paraguay, virtually all in Ciudad del Este.

Moreover, a minimum of US$5 billion – which

is essentially half of the entire gross

domestic product of Paraguay – is allegedly

laundered in the Paraguayan crime hotspot

alone.41

In September 2006, Brazil conducted

Operação Platina, which uncovered an

enormous network of money laundering

activities headed by a Colombian citizen

named Alejandro Pareja García. It was

discovered that García had invested in

multiple real estate properties, companies

that transport fuel and petrochemicals, and

gas stations. The investigation also revealed

the routes García used in his money

laundering. The money garnered by the drug

traffickers under García was sent to Brazil via

Uruguay, taking advantage of Brazil’s weak

legislation on incoming money (Brazil

permits capital flow with few questions in

order to attract foreign investments).42

Brazilian investigators estimate that 17% of

the profit garnered by Colombian drug cartels

is laundered after introduction into the

Brazilian banking system.43

However, potential terrorist financing is the

greatest worry for the triple frontier. Despite

some evidence of terrorist networks – or at

least terrorist sympathizers – inhabiting the

region, the Paraguayan, Brazilian, and

Argentine governments assert that

belligerent groups like Hezbollah and Hamas

are not present in the Tri-Border Area. Efforts

to trace money laundering trails remain

difficult for government agencies and

regulating bodies.

Other Crimes

Aside from the aforementioned illegal

enterprises, the triple frontier is also known

for high instances of bribery and corruption,

car robberies, racketeering, and kidnappings,

as well as a variety of violent offenses.

Bribery, for instance, is very common for

residents in the triple frontier. Shop owners

regularly avoid high tariffs by bribing

customs officials, who subsequently allow

the passage of undocumented goods.44 Many

corrupt local government employees are

willing to bend against the law for a quick

buck. Similarly, the theft and reselling of

automobiles is a bustling trade in the area,

where cars from wealthy metropolitan areas

like Buenos Aires are stolen, then transported

to and sold in Ciudad del Este. It is thought

that more than half of the 450,000 vehicles

registered in Paraguay are acquired through

illicit channels.45

Illicit Activities in the Tri-Border Area

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9 The Fund for Peace www.fundforpeace.org

Criminal organizations, mafias, and

other groups with a focus on illicit activities

hold business transactions in the Tri-Border

Area, while many others have headquarters

or a faction presence in the region. These

nefarious actors vary in structure – many

perform hierarchically, while others do not.

Most of these groups originate from countries

around the world and conduct their devious

activities under the blind spot of the

Paraguayan, Brazilian, and Argentine

governments.

Groups like the Yakuza from Japan, Nigerian

con artists, and miscellaneous criminals from

Brazil, China, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana,

France (Corsica), Lebanon (including the

Barakat network), Peru, Russia (principally

Chechen groups), and Ukraine, – and

undoubtedly other countries around the

world – have had a presence in the triple

frontier and have delved into the region’s

illicit economies and money laundering

strategies.46

Some of these groups have a more salient

presence in the triple frontier than others.

Colombian groups, such as drug trafficking

cartels and the FARC, are well integrated to

the region’s shadow economy. The FARC, for

instance, has been linked to the criminals

who kidnapped and subsequently murdered

Cecilia Cubas, the daughter of Paraguayan ex-

vice president Raúl Cubas, in 2005. It is

alleged that FARC’s ideology influenced the

leftist group, Partido de la Patria Libre, which

conducted the kidnapping. The FARC has also

been linked to Hezbollah, among other

devious organizations.47 Drugs and arms

trafficking are the primary trade for

Colombian groups.

Russian criminal groups have an equally

strong presence in the region. Groups like the

Podolskaya, Mazukinskaya, Tambovskaya,

Izama Ilovskaya, and Solntsevskaya hold

active interests in the Tri-Border Area.

Chechen separatist groups have been

suspected of contacting Islamist

associations,48 and having strong ties to the

FARC in Colombia, and other Colombian,

Brazilian, Paraguayan, and Peruvian criminal

groups.49 Russian groups are primarily

involved in drug trafficking (using fishing

trawlers and cargo ships as transport vessels),

counterfeiting and contraband selling, arms

smuggling, and money laundering.

Chinese groups are known to practice

extortion, even on Chinese immigrants in the

Tri-Border Area themselves. Triad members

are told to force Chinese immigrants to

purchase merchandise imported from China

and/or Hong Kong in order to receive

“protection”.50 The Chinese Triad is reported

to have links to Hezbollah51 and the Egyptian

Gam’a al-Islamiyah; in fact, the notorious

Ming and Sun-I families are known to launder

money for Gama’a al-Islamiyah, as well as

furnish them with smuggled weapons.52

Chinese groups like the Fu Shin, Tai Chen, Fei

Jeii, Fuk Ching, the Big Circle Boys, and the

Flying Dragons have all done business in the

triple frontier.

The Barakat network, which is regionally

operated by Assad Ahmad Barakat, has

emerged as one the most powerful organized

criminal networks in the Tri-Border Area.

Known for its extensive DVD piracy projects,

general piracy and counterfeiting activities,

drug trafficking, racketeering, and extortion,

the Barakat network is also heavily linked to

Hezbollah. It is suspected of financing

numerous operations for Hezbollah. A 2009

RAND Corporation report on organized crime

and terrorism stated that the network has

channeled an approximated US$20 million

per year through the region. “At least one

transfer of US$3.5 million,” states the report,

“was donated by Assad Ahmad Barakat, who

received a thank-you note from the

Hezbollah leader.” The Barakat network has

also delved into money laundering and

unlawful money transfer systems (like

hawala53), illegal gambling, arms trafficking,

and document fraud.54 Aside from direct

money transfers, the Barakat network’s

former headquarters in Galeria Page in

downtown Ciudad del Este was found to have

Hezbollah propaganda in videotape form and

CDs with suicide bomber materials after a

Paraguayan police raid in 2001.55

Tri-Border Area Crime and Terrorism

Organized Crime

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The crime-terrorist nexus is a

controversial topic for the Tri-Border Area

countries. Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina

have averred that the claim that terrorist

organizations, primarily those of Islamist

ideologies, like Al-Qaeda and the Palestinian

Hamas, exist in the region is a false one,

referring to them as claims with little proof or

backing. Despite these tenuous assertions,

global organizations like the Interpol and

others have linked organized crime

syndicates and the extant black markets in

the Tri-Border Area to belligerent

organizations abroad.

Although the Department of State’s most

recent Country Reports on Terrorism stated

that “there were no known operational cells

of either al-Qa’ida or Hezballah-related

groups in the [Western] hemisphere…”,

ideological sympathizers in the triple frontier

continue to provide monetary and moral

support to numerous militant organizations

abroad.56 In fact, pecuniary gain to

supplement operations is the primary

strategic interest for terrorist organizations in

Latin America.57

Financial support in the form of remittances

has come to worry concerned governments.

Indeed, the region’s relaxed money flow

restrictions have strained partnerships

between the U.S. and the triple frontier

countries. Brazil has recently admitted that

large portions of the Lebanese communities

in the triple frontier region send substantial

sums of money to the Middle East,58 and

although it would be a gross undertaking to

investigate each individual claim, it is

important to note that it is this region that

provides the most lucrative gain for U.S.-

deemed terrorist organizations like

Hezbollah (aside from state donors like Iran

and Syria).59

Members or affiliates of terrorist

organizations are oftentimes completely

assimilated in the Arab communities in the

triple frontier. Many don professional

businessman attire while others appear as

street merchants; this is done to mislead and

conceal the illegal activities that occur within

these unlawful enterprises.60

It is estimated that between US$20-500

million61 is donated to Hezbollah and Hamas

annually – as they have the largest presence

in the region.62 Substantial funds originate

from remittances, the smuggling of duty-free

products, drug trafficking, and counterfeiting.

Money laundering, as mentioned before,

plays a heavy role in bringing dirty money

into the licit economy and helps cover traces.

Remittances are particularly conspicuous as

forms of terrorist funding. It has been

reported that around US$50 million have

been remitted between 1995 and 2002 to

help fund Hezbollah.63 The informal money

transferring system of hawala is also heavily

incorporated in terrorist money laundering in

the region, along with front institutions and

charitable – or zakat64 – donations.65 Despite

no known active compounds or camps in

South America, radical groups recruit

members and manage their garnered funds in

the triple frontier, including overseeing tasks

related to terrorist planning.66

The results of successful terrorist fund-

raising campaigns are scary to consider.

Hezbollah, for example, has honed its

counterintelligence network over the years,

thanks to steady remittances and state

funding from supporting government like

Iran. Because of this, Hezbollah has garnered

a lot of clout in the triple frontier. One

incident involving the FBI demonstrates the

serious security threat crime-terrorist

nexuses create. Several FBI agents from the

New York Field Office were assigned to

covertly observe Hezbollah operatives in the

Tri-Border Area. Because of the importance of

secrecy, very few in the region were told of

the arrival of the American agents. A few

minutes after deplaning, the agents felt their

pagers going off – an alert that meant that

they should communicate with the New York

office. They later learned from agents in New

York that a fax had been sent from the triple

border anonymously, which contained a

picture of the FBI agents that had gotten off

the plane a few minutes prior.67

The permissive environments fostered by the

region’s government do little to dissuade the

crime-terrorist nexus that exists in the triple

frontier. Because of this, groups like

Hezbollah can operate with some impunity.

Other groups with uncovered ties to criminal

gangs and the Tri-Border Area population

include: the Egyptian Islamic Jihad (or the

Egyptian al-Jihad), Wahhabi-aligned Sunni

fundamentalists, al-Qaeda (with several

informants making trips in the late 1990s),

the Taliban, Egypt’s al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya,

the Islamic Jihad Organization (Hezbollah’s

terrorist arm68), Colombia’s FARC, and (in the

past) Peru’s Shining Path. Moreover, several

Russian mafia groups (most saliently the

Chechen mafia), the Chinese Triad, and the

Barakat network, hold and have held strong

alliances with many of the aforementioned

terrorist bands. The connections between

crime and delinquent non-state actors are

therefore very robust, which serves to only

undermine the legal efforts of law

enforcement – local and global – in the

region.

Links to Terrorist Organizations

Tri-Border Area Crime and Terrorism

Crime-Terrorism Nexus

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Despite a seemingly indifferent

approach the TBA countries have undertaken

to combat the rise of illegal activity in the

triple frontier and surrounding regions,

several high-profile operations have been

conducted that have yielded successful

results.

Operation Jupiter first started out in 2005

and heavily focused on the borders of the

three Tri-Border Area countries as part of a

tripartite approach to fight crime organized

by Interpol in close partnership with the

World Customs Organization. Since its

successful initial launch, Operation Jupiter

has gone on to expand its crime-combating

measures and expanded to other South

American nations, continuing its fight against

illicit activity in the triple frontier. Operation

Jupiter’s interventions have culminated with

approximately 700 arrests and the

confiscation of nearly US$300 million in

counterfeit, smuggled, or trafficked goods,

many of which originated in the Tri-Border

Area. One sample seizure in Paraguay’s

Ciudad del Este yielded 188,200 counterfeit

CDs and DVDs, as well as 2,733,700 sleeve

jackets and 23,000 units of bogus medicines

for erectile dysfunction.69

Efforts have also been taken by the individual

countries, explained in the following pages.

Recent Efforts

Tri-Border Area Crime and Terrorism

Law Enforcement in the Tri-Border Area

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The Argentine government has been

receptive to global considerations regarding

the triple frontier’s criminal activities, but the

country continues to retain unhelpful policies

against combating the crime-terrorism nexus

in the Tri-Border Area.

Regarding money flows, Argentina is the only

Tri-Border Area country to have criminalized

terrorist financing.70 However, Law 25.246 in

Argentina does not criminalize money

laundering as a standalone crime, and

moreover, does not criminalize the

movement of sums of money past 50,000

Argentine pesos (roughly US$11,400).

Instead, these obscured quantities qualify as

concealment and therefore carry a lesser

punishment.71 Similarly, a tax moratorium

and capital repatriation law put into effect in

2008 gave tax amnesty to individuals who

chose to repatriate undeclared offshore

assets in a six-month window. The Argentine

government was prohibited from inquiring

about the provenance of these assets, even

after declaration, until 2009, when changes

were made to comply with the Financial

Action Task Force (FATF) and the Financial

Action Task Force for South America.72

In addition, Argentina has also established

the Trade Transparency Unit, which works in

tandem with the U.S. Department of

Homeland Security’s Immigration and

Customs Enforcement. It is meant to examine

trade data on capital flows for any fraud or

illicit behavior.73 Even with these steps,

Argentina was stated to have made “virtually

no progress toward addressing numerous

serious deficiencies” in government

regulation, according to the FATF evaluation

released in October 2010. The assessment

considered Argentina’s legal and preventive

measures “inadequate or not being

enforced.”74

In 2009, the government of Argentina

approved a law (26.364) to prohibit and

punish all forms of human trafficking. The law

helped strengthen law enforcement

measures in arresting traffickers and rescuing

victims. Furthermore, the law helped improve

the mechanism through with trafficking

victims received shelter and other services.75

Despite these positive movements, Argentina

has experienced little progress in convicting

and sentencing trafficking offenders.

Tragically, there have also been problems

ensuring that victims of human trafficking

and sexual exploitation receive adequate

victim assistance.76

Argentine intelligence has been the most

active intelligence-gathering agency in the

triple frontier and was the first to commence

combating terrorist activity in the region. In

tandem with efforts made by the U.S.

government, Argentine intelligence helped

goad the Paraguayan government prosecute

Barakat network leaders for financial

crimes.77

Argentina

South America

Law Enforcement Efforts in the Tri-Border Area

Brazil

Paraguay

Argentina

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13 The Fund for Peace www.fundforpeace.org

Brazil

As the fifth most populous country in

the world and the largest and most populous

of the three triple frontier nations, Brazil has

undergone many changes in the positive

direction in the last few years. Now that it has

moved towards greater economic growth and

diplomatic power, Brazil has been improving

its efforts to fight crime in the Tri-Border

Area.

Brazil’s money laundering and bank

regulation laws are adequate, according to

the U.S. Department of State. Terrorist

financing is not a stand-alone offense in

Brazil, which permits citizens to donate

money to any organization However, a money

laundering bill at the time of the release of

the U.S. Department of State’s International

Narcotics Control Strategy Report may have

some language that could criminalize giving

money to terrorist organizations. Terrorist

financing, however, is an established

predicate (i.e. an offense that flows logically

to another offense) form of money

laundering. Furthermore, a 2008 draft

awaiting Senate approval in Brazil intended

on increasing the scope of law enforcement.

Specifically, the bill would allow law

enforcement to access financial and banking

records during investigations, allow the

freezing of assets, and facilitate the

prosecution of individuals convicted for

money laundering and terrorist financing

cases.79

Brazil’s attempts to regulate smuggling

include the Sacoleiro Law (1.898) passed in

2009. The sacoleiros – under this law – are

defined as importers that are obliged to

register and pay 42.25% of tax duties on the

prices paid for their “imported” merchandise.

Said law also imposes a maximum import on

items - US$61,000.80

In terms of security, the government of Brazil

has greatly increased its presence around its

southwestern borders in the Tri-Border Area.

In September 2009, Brazil’s military forces

began a security operation nicknamed “Agata

2” with the objective of curbing illegal

activity. 1,000 Brazilian soldiers were sent to

the region to patrol the tripartite border,

which led to a pronounced – 50% – decrease

of vehicular and human crossing across the

Ciudad del Este and Foz do Iguaçu border.81

That same year, Brazil also acquired Israeli-

manufactured drones in order to improve

vigilance at the border. However, this

acquisition was not viewed favorably in

Paraguay.82

Law Enforcement Efforts in the Tri-Border Area

South America

Brazil

Paraguay

Argentina

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Paraguay

Paraguay is the least developed and

populated country of the three triple frontier

states, and therefore has experienced the

most issues when it comes to law

enforcement capacity and resources.

Paraguay’s lenient laws lend veracity to the

claim that Ciudad del Este, as the Tri-Border

Area’s criminal hotspot, is essentially “devoid

of government control.”83

Paraguay’s weak regulation of the financial

sector, relatively ungoverned borders, shady

casinos, and inadequate financial controls

over money-related crimes makes the

country the perfect place to launder money

and possibly fund terrorist activities. Ciudad

del Este is particularly vulnerable to money

laundering, as little personal background

information is needed in Ciudad del Este to

open a bank account or conduct financial

transactions. Despite an unsophisticated

financial sector, bearer shares are permitted

in Paraguay,84 and terrorist financing is not

illegal.85 Paraguay does not have any laws

that allow for the freezing or seizure of any

criminally-derived assets, unless the

government of Paraguay is directly losing or

risks losing revenue, such as under tax

evasion. The government of Paraguay is

expected to expand those laws and include

freezing and seizure for suspected money

laundering activities or terrorist-related

assets.86

Moreover, informal exchange houses are very

common in the streets of Ciudad del Este and

are used to conceal the provenance of money

when transporting or sending it across

borders. Finally, taxations laws are easily

ignored in Ciudad del Este and the vast

majority of goods brought into Paraguay from

other countries are undocumented, and

thusly untaxed. In July 2008, former

President Nicanor Duarte Frutos signed into

law a new penal code that included making

money laundering an autonomous crime.

Under this law, the act of money laundering

was punishable by five years in prison, and

even held financial sector officers and

companies accountable for permitting the

crime to occur.87

Paraguay has implemented procedures that

have enhanced its counterterrorism

apparatus, but these efforts remained

hampered by Paraguay’s porous borders and

corruption. The June 2010 capture of an

alleged Hezbollah financier Moussa Hamdan

in Ciudad del Este “demonstrated the area’s

permissive environment for terrorist

financing activity”, stated the Department of

State’s Country Reports on Terrorism 2010.88

Corruption from customs officials, the local

police, the public ministry, and the judicial

apparatus have severely impeded any

substantial law enforcement initiatives and is

generally accepted as a way of life for those

who live and work in the Tri-Border Area.

Aside from a debilitated financial sector,

Paraguay also has poor a regulation system

that does little to help counter its burgeoning

underground markets. For example, there

exists no cigarette industry regulation, which

allows for such a booming market for

counterfeit cigarettes.89 Similarly, the heavy

presence of pirated goods in the streets of

Ciudad del Este is a direct consequence of

Paraguay’s lax laws on copyrights,

trademarks, and patents. Paraguayan

legislation permits the patenting of products

from companies not headquartered within

Paraguayan borders,90 and these offices have

very weak evidentiary document

requirements.91

Law Enforcement Efforts in the Tri-Border Area

South America

Brazil

Paraguay

Argentina

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The government of Paraguay has begun to

acknowledge some of the shortcomings and

has begun to improve regulation programs.

Operation Frontera Sur was initiated in 2008

in partnership with Brazil, which involved the

deployment of 1,300 soldiers (with an

additional 10,000 soldiers nearing the peak

of its run) to the triple frontier area. Air, land,

and water operations were conducted with

special planes, vehicles, and war helicopters

equipped for border regulation. Operation

Frontera Sur was intended to diminish the

transportation of illegal goods across the

Paraguayan border near its junction with

Brazil.92 In 2009, it also revised its penal code

to bolster penalties against trafficking crimes

and improve prosecution.93 That same year,

Paraguay also renewed its customs office at

the Friendship Bridge in order to combat the

smuggling of undocumented goods.

Law Enforcement Efforts in the Tri-Border Area

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Tri-Border Area Crime and Terrorism

Recommendations

16 The Fund for Peace www.fundforpeace.org

The triple frontier is a security threat

not only to the immediate region or South

America as a whole, but also to other

countries around the world. Its high levels of

crime and the opportunistic endeavors of

international criminal organizations and

global terrorist networks threaten the

authority and sovereignty of Paraguay, Brazil,

and Argentina. Because of the triple frontier’s

rampant criminality, it is paramount that the

region’s three countries implement a number

of recommendations that focus on the legal

system and on limiting corruption.

Enforce High-Quality Crime Policies

It is imperative that the local governments of

the triple frontier increase their law

enforcement presence and introduction to

several measures that adequately deal with

the illegal activities that occur in the area.

The fact that the triple frontier serves as a

hotspot to various kinds of crimes is not

unknown to the populace in the surrounding

areas. Such knowledge should come with the

implementation of an efficient law

enforcement model, akin to the U.S.’s High

Intensity Financial Crime Areas and High

Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas.

Initiatives like these concentrate specialized

law enforcement efforts to areas with high

crime frequency and use specially tailored

measures to combat illicit activities in the

specific regions. Tri-state cooperation could

fill in resource gaps that one country might

have over another. Tailored cooperation can

also strengthen existing policies and improve

investigations, analyses, and prosecutions of

crimes.

An expansion of police presence also helps

limit the convergence of state threats –

primarily that of terrorist groups, organized

crime syndicates, and criminal enterprises.

Greater attention to the Tri-Border Area

would ward off these types of convergence.

Adopt Political Practices That Help Combat State Corruption

The region as a whole should incorporate

better-tailored policies with which to counter

corruption. Crimes like smuggling and money

laundering occur with a substantial amount

of local, regional, or state acceptance and

collusion. It is paramount for these nations to

promote greater regulation and political

strategies without sacrificing extant

freedoms in order to limit crime-terrorist

convergence in the region. These

government considerations should include,

inter alia:

• Greater political openness and

transparency;

• Responsible public procurement and

spending through economical, but

efficient, means;

• Public interest over private ones;

• The monitoring of financial flows and

assets;

• Regulating lobbying and special interest

groups;

• The inclusion of minorities of any spectrum

in the public sector;

• Political and judicial immunity in order to

promote openness without the fear of

criminal, political, civil sanctions;

• Supporting the promulgation of an ethical

public service system; and

• A set of sustainable complaint mechanisms

and whistleblower policies that promotes

trust between civilians and the state.94

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Improve Financial Sector Practices

The triple frontier is a high-functioning

business center, of both licit and illicit

markets. Because of this, it is important for all

three countries to implement measures on

banking institutions in order to regulate

money flow and monitor any illicit flows and

transactions. Banks in the region should be

marshaled to perform due diligence on any

transaction originating in the Tri-Border Area.

Because of the fact that many banks in the

area are complicit to illegal transactions, it is

crucial for governments in the region to

establish responsible monitoring committees

that oversee banks and other financial

institutions. It must be stated that money

laundering has ties to all criminal pursuits in

the region, whether they are linked to

terrorism or other non-state actors or not.

Successful banking regulations can lead to

greater security measures on the national and

regional level.

Introduce Stricter Cross-Border Regulation Measures

The triple frontier is well known for its

porous borders on all three frontiers.

Customs officials, if any at busy posts, are

oftentimes corrupt and ignore extant

regulation policies, meaning virtually

anything can cross the border – belligerent or

benign. Therefore, it is important that the Tri-

Border Area countries improve policies on

the cross-border movement of people and

goods. Higher customs officer pay, greater

training, and a stronger tripartite partnership

between Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina

would increase accountability and limit

collusion.

Recommendations

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18 The Fund for Peace www.fundforpeace.org

Tri-Border Area Crime and Terrorism

Conclusion

The lawless environment that the

triple frontier buttresses with overt

corruption, weak legislation, and poor law

enforcement provides an ample space for

criminals and belligerent non-state actors to

call home. Because of the region’s penchant

for attracting devious actors, attention to the

Tri-Border Area has increased significantly

since the events of September 11, 2001.

Governments, research groups, and

i n t e r n a t i o n a l n o n - g o v e r nm en t a l

organizations have all turned their attention

to the region, as it has become a Western

hemisphere hub for criminal pursuits –

ranging from a robust network of drug

traffickers and electronics smugglers to one

of the world’s most important conduits for

money laundering. Forgers, thieves,

hawaladars, cambistas, lax government

officials, and corrupt judges, customs agents,

and businessmen, among others, color the

illicit transactions that plague the region.

Furthermore, the underground commercial

activities common in the region’s three

international cities have attracted global

criminal syndicates eager to delve into the

bustling shadow commerce for which places

like Ciudad del Este are notorious. The likes

of terrorist organizations, like Hezbollah and

the Islamic Jihad Organization, are equally

attracted to this environment and enjoy a

level of impunity in the region. In the Tri-

Border Area, they foster ties with like-minded

diaspora and raise funds to finance terrorist

operations. All of these factors contribute to

the region’s rampant insecurity.

Many of the existing weaknesses in regional

governmental capacities stem from weak

laws and poor enforcement, if any. The triple

frontier, thusly, would benefit from the

implementation of high-intensity crime

policies, anti-corruption measures, and

stronger financial regulations, along with

greater attention to border control and

immigration between the three border cities.

It is clear that the aforementioned illicit

activities in the triple frontier threaten the

immediate security of Paraguay, Argentina,

and Brazil, but the threats do not stop there.

The United States and other countries also

have a vested interest in the region’s myriad

of destabilizing actors, including organized

criminal gangs and Islamist organizations.

Therefore, it is crucial for the United States

and others to partner up with the

governments of Paraguay, Argentina, and

Brazil and offer training, brainstorm

strategies, and contribute to existing

government operations aimed at policing the

region in order to curtail any further growth.

Similarly, it is also important for researchers

and government officials to understand the

complexities of the triple frontier and

develop strategies to counter the threat of

the crime-terrorism nexus. Without greater

action taken to address the growing crime-

terrorism nexus, the Tri-Border Area may

spiral out of control and create larger-scale

security issues for nations around the world.

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19 The Fund for Peace www.fundforpeace.org

1. URL located at: http://www.nti.org/analysis/articles/islamist-terrorist-

threat/

2. URL located at: https://docs.google.com/viewer?

a=v&q=cache:DOuFaStOtMsJ:www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/loc/

terr_org_crime_tba.pdf+&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESiT1mWSMjO

871DL2FUHLGa1o7rGDwQ1T0aqDeS8_gUuALNru4oo5NUdN3z239Mc4XoN

wXb5L8pzg6k1HVSd9su8mZMFJ_H5UlnG55PmEHUdSWVTGDg_keA0PfDim

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4. URL located at: http://www.avijorisch.com/9560/tri-border-region

5. URL located at: http://www.igea.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/FIlm-

Piracy-Organized-Crime-and-Terrorism.pdf

Introduction

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26. The currency of Brazil.

27. URL located at: http://www.eumed.net/rev/sg/02/yj.htm

28. URL located at: http://encompass.eku.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?

article=1002&context=cjps_fsresearch&sei-redir=1&referer=http%3A%

2F%2Fscholar.google.com%2Fscholar%3Fstart%3D20%26q%3Darms%

2Btrafficking%2Btri-border%2Barea%26hl%3Den%26as_sdt%3D0%

2C9#search=%22arms%20trafficking%20tri-border%20area%22

29. URL located at: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:

1niC5rfdqEgJ:www.cdi.org/pdfs/Small_Arms_Latin_America.pdf+

&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid= ADGEEShzT6a3Z7Cf0k43O2ghezf13_MsfJ-

NyzQ5X30BgFunk2Z2gWDcLvZvck9jx4nw_rkJxFY0ussUTrvXl5QUHyyZgEdi

wfR7UNYaW4SEYrsXlWJQeCr97ibUsao0Vov4XYNWPdP-&sig=AHIEtbSiRy

7OnYplu6DtXoR_2eHSwmjfNw

30. URL located at: http://encompass.eku.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?

article=1002&context=cjps_fsresearch&sei-redir=1&referer=http%3A%

2F%2Fscholar.google.com%2Fscholar%3Fstart%3D20%26q%3Darms%

2Btrafficking%2Btri-border%2Barea%26hl%3Den%26as_sdt%3D0%

2C9#search=%22arms%20trafficking%20tri-border%20area%22

Illicit Activities in the Tri-Border Area

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20 The Fund for Peace www.fundforpeace.org

Endnotes

31. Acronym for las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia or the

Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

32. URL located at: http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?

AD=ADA440502&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf

33. URL located at: http://www.dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/

features/for_starters/2010/01/01/feature-08

34. URL located at: http://www.dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/

features/for_starters/2010/01/01/feature-08

35. URL located at: http://www.dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/

features/for_starters/2010/01/01/feature-08

36. URL located at: http://www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/tda/tda2008/

Paraguay.pdf

37. URL located at: http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2009/123135.htm

38. URL located at: http://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2009/123135.htm

39. URL located at: http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/120055.pdf

40. URL located at: http://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/pdf-files/TerrOrgCrime_TBA.pdf

41. URL located at: http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?

Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf&AD=ADA483483

42. URL located at: http://www.elojodigital.com/contenido/9078-crimen-

organizado-y-terrorismo-en-la-triple-frontera-y-areas-adyacentes

43. URL located at: http://encompass.eku.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?

article=1002&context=cjps_fsresearch&sei-redir=1&referer=http%3A%

2F%2Fscholar.google.com%2Fscholar%3Fstart%3D20%26q%3Darms%

2Btrafficking%2Btri-border%2Barea%26hl%3Den%26as_sdt%3D0%

2C9#search=%22arms%20trafficking%20tri-border%20area%22

44. URL located at: https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/

handle/1887/17996/JCG%20Aguiar-_Stretching_the_Border_-

_Smuggling_Practices_and_the_Control_of_Illegality_in_South_America.pd

f?sequence=2

45. URL located at: http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?

article=1001&context=gary_potter

Organized Crime

46. URL located at: http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?

article=1001&context=gary_potter; http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/

papers.cfm?abstract_id=1875226; http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/

papers.cfm?abstract_id=1875226; and http://www.elojodigital.com/

contenido/9078-crimen-organizado-y-terrorismo-en-la-triple-frontera-y-

areas-adyacentes

47. URL located at: http://www.elojodigital.com/contenido/9078-crimen-

organizado-y-terrorismo-en-la-triple-frontera-y-areas-adyacentes

48. https://www.as.miami.edu/international-studies/pdf/Bagley%2520GLO

BALIZATION%25202.pdf+&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESipAS07p

P9Vy1xiJ86x4OPfvcVO7hugxFH9CFgU2RdnI7Czj2dnyB1wFw6FcpD2THJ5x

EacQJfM9HJSuRheb76wnQNjtNTjgC3eaT8yiIJdvhi-3VqWMlVq6Si2z1yjuya

XgvYM&sig=AHIEtbT8Jgo5cBYXY94JK9WSEEcbPqbxFA

49. URL located at: http://www.elojodigital.com/contenido/9078-crimen-

organizado-y-terrorismo-en-la-triple-frontera-y-areas-adyacentes

50. URL located at: http://www.elojodigital.com/contenido/9078-crimen-

organizado-y-terrorismo-en-la-triple-frontera-y-areas-adyacentes

51. https://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/pdf-files/TerrOrgCrime_TBA.pdf+&hl=en&gl=

us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESgQsLhX08wApo0QkcgCzikQpJcCqpS9gcnmsnBor

KjCqltJ4zJ4Oe2bCHI3CW4l8zNzbMQ8CQA70p_3Yb4TymL50d-xcmHYR1U

UaWovr1TSBFMqF1n07n9OSBni7D9j7G67CpEf&sig=AHIEtbTQ8dEUmDJ3Y

Rny3-gkYTge7SSIhA

52. URL located at: http://www.elojodigital.com/contenido/9078-crimen-

organizado-y-terrorismo-en-la-triple-frontera-y-areas-adyacentes

53. Hawala (which is also known as hundi) is an informal value transfer system

that is made up of large network of money brokers around the world.

Money is transferred between hawaladars, although no actual money

movement takes place. After a hawaladar receives funds by a customer and

is told who to give it to and where, the hawala broker calls an associate in

the recipient’s city and gives instructions on how much money is to be

given and to whom. Hawala runs entirely on an honor code and does not

involve any official financial institutions. It is illegal in several jurisdictions

in the U.S. and around the world.

54. URL located at: http://www.igea.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/FIlm-

Piracy-Organized-Crime-and-Terrorism.pdf

55. Foreign Broadcast Information Service, “Paraguay seeks arrest of Lebanese

businessman in Brazil for links to terrorism,” FBIS Document ID:

LAP20011106000016, trans. from O Globo [Rio de Janeiro], November 6,

2001.

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21 The Fund for Peace www.fundforpeace.org

Endnotes

56. URL located at: http://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2010/170259.htm

57. Costanza, William. "Hizballah and Its Mission in Latin America." Studies in

Conflict & Terrorism 35 (2011): 193-210. Routledge. Web. 21 Mar. 2012.

58. URL located at: http://en.mercopress.com/2011/04/04/islamic-extremists-

operating-illegally-in-triple-frontier-area-says-brazilian-magazine

59. URL located at: http://www.cnbc.com/id/21082897/page/2/

60. URL located at: https://www.horaciocalderon.com/Articulos/

HC_TBA_Organised_Crime_and_Terrorism.doc+&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srci

d=ADGEESjvyXxYTKvD3p8uZ7tCSHoRjtI5ArOl9dvMkf9SLLVl6kuehfVBm2m

RH43vxAjgaGEZD-1qE_63BJbBljOaiY6H-NxIqdORtGzXJkQO_wed49sePW

pS9fkW518nfhS36mHJwLha&sig=AHIEtbSy1yf8j8JomSpmSk0nkmUAUjitTA

61. URL located at: http://in.reuters.com/article/2009/03/03/us-piracy-

idINTRE5221CZ20090303

62. URL located at: http://www.cnbc.com/id/21082897/page/2/

63. Rudner, Martin, “Hizbullah Terrorism Finance: Fund-Raising ad Money-

Laundering,” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 33 (2010), pp. 705-706.

64. Zakat is a religious duty in Islam, whereby Muslims who have financial

means are obliged to make voluntary contributions to charity.

65. https://www.horaciocalderon.com/Articulos/HC_TBA_Organised_Crime_

and_Terrorism.doc+&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESjvyXxYTKvD3p8

uZ7tCSHoRjtI5ArOl9dvMkf9SLLVl6kuehfVBm2mRH43vxAjgaGEZD-

1qE_63BJbBljOaiY6H-NxIqdORtGzXJkQO_wed49sePWpS9fkW518nfhS3

6mHJwLha&sig=AHIEtbSy1yf8j8JomSpmSk0nkmUAUjitTA

66. URL located at: http://www.informador.com.mx/internacional/2011/

347403/6/busca-washington-alejar-a-iran-de-america-latina.htm

67. Costanza, William. "Hizballah and Its Mission in Latin America." Studies in

Conflict & Terrorism 35 (2011): 193-210. Routledge. Web. 21 Mar. 2012.

68. Costanza, William. "Hizballah and Its Mission in Latin America." Studies in

Conflict & Terrorism 35 (2011): 193-210. Routledge. Web. 21 Mar. 2012.

Crime-Terrorism Nexus

69. URL located at: https://www.interpol.int/Public/FinancialCrime/

IntellectualProperty/OperationJupiter/Default.asp

70. URL located at: http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/120055.pdf

71. URL located at: http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/120055.pdf

72. URL located at: http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/120055.pdf

73. URL located at: http://argentina.usembassy.gov/pdf/reports-on-argentina/

incsr09.pdf

74. URL located at: http://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2010/170259.htm

75. URL located at: http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2009/123135.htm

76. URL located at: http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2009/123135.htm

77. URL located at: http://www.igea.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/FIlm-

Piracy-Organized-Crime-and-Terrorism.pdf

78. URL located at: http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/156589.pdf

79. URL located at: http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/120055.pdf

80. URL located at: https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/

handle/1887/17996/JCG%20Aguiar-_Stretching_the_Border_-

_Smuggling_Practices_and_the_Control_of_Illegality_in_South_America.pd

f?sequence=2

81. URL located at: http://www.diariopopular.com.py/?q=node/101447

82. URL located at: http://en.mercopress.com/2010/07/23/brazil-patrols-

paraguay-border-with-uav-to-control-drugs-and-arms-contraband

83. URL located at: http://www.avijorisch.com/9560/tri-border-region

84. URL located at: http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/120055.pdf

85. URL located at: http://www.avijorisch.com/9560/tri-border-region

86. URL located at: http://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2010/170259.htm

87. URL located at: http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/120055.pdf

88. URL located at: http://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2010/170259.htm

89. URL located at: http://www.publicintegrity.org/investigations/tobacco/

articles/entry/1439/

90. URL located at: http://www.mercuriodelasalud.com.ar/notas.asp?

IdNota=186

91. URL located at: http://www.igea.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/FIlm-

Piracy-Organized-Crime-and-Terrorism.pdf

92. URL located at: http://www.eumed.net/rev/sg/02/yj.htm

93. URL located at: http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2009/123137.htm

Law Enforcement in the Tri-Border Area

94. URL located at: http://www.osce.org/eea/13738

Conclusion

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About

The Fund for Peace

The Fund for Peace is an

independent, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) non-

profit research and educational organization

that works to prevent violent conflict and

promote sustainable security.

We promote sustainable security through

research, training and education, engagement

of civil society, building bridges across

diverse sectors, and developing innovative

technologies and tools for policy makers.

A leader in the conflict assessment and early

warning field, the Fund for Peace focuses on

the problems of weak and failing states. Our

objective is to create practical tools and

approaches for conflict mitigation that are

useful to decision-makers.

The Fund for Peace offers a wide range of

initiatives focused on our central objective:

to promote sustainable security and the

ability of a state to solve its own problems

peacefully without an external military or

administrative presence. Our programs fall

into three primary thematic areas:

• Conflict Early Warning and Assessment;

• Transnational Threats; and

• Sustainable Development, Sustainable

Security.

Conflict Early Warning and Assessment

Transnational Threats

Sustainable Development, Sustainable Security

After three years of project work, in January

2009, The Fund for Peace established its

program on Threat Convergence to explore

the linkages among the three biggest threats

to global security: fragile states, the

proliferation of weapons of mass destruction

(WMD), and terrorism. The program aims to:

• raise the profile of the challenges in

vulnerable, fragile and ungoverned regions

on the nonproliferation agenda;

• explore how these regions may serve as

enabling environments for nuclear

terrorism;

• promote more coherent and strategic

policy approaches to nuclear terrorism and

illicit nuclear trafficking; and

• become a hub for threat convergence-

related analysis.

The program encourages innovative and

fresh approaches to the issue by convening

experts, performing extensive field research

in some of the world’s most difficult

environments, and by partnering with

international and regional organizations to

explore how the threat of catastrophic

terrorism emanating from weak and failing

states can be prevented.

About Threat Convergence

www.fundforpeace.org/tc

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www.fundforpeace.org

The Fund for Peace Transnational Threats

FFP : TTCVR1208