Israel Should Revive Its Strategic Relationship With Paraguay

Just last month, Santiago Peña Palacios was inaugurated as the 52nd President of Paraguay: a nation that had abandoned its cooperation with Israel, moved its embassy out of Jerusalem, and openly supported terrorist financial operations under his predecessor, Mario Abdo Benítez and former Minister of Interior Federico Alberto González Franco.

Under the Abdo Benítez government, Paraguay stalled a probe into the Venezuelan Emtrasur cargo plane that landed in Paraguay in May 2022, which was tied to international terrorism and the Iranian government. Also vexing President Peña Palacios are accusations of gold trafficking to the Middle East and large illicit cocaine shipments to Germany that have been tied to his predecessor.  

The current regional economic crisis, geopolitical insecurity, and the invitation by BRICS, the grouping of the economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, extended to Argentina, Ethiopia, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and United Emirates, make Paraguay a strategic partner of Israel in a volatile region that has a growing potential to provide agricultural goods to the world.

In order to have a successful national security strategy and secure his country’s porous borders, President Peña Palacios will need to establish strong ties with the Israel and make headway with the purchase of defense and military technology from the Jewish state, and ensure cooperation in intelligence collection, in order to reduce the presence of Hezbollah in the Triple Frontier Area and fight large financial operations that benefit terrorist groups in the Middle East.

The Triple Frontier region is comprises the tri-border area along the junction of the borders of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay, Paraguay’s Ciudad del Este has long been known as city where Asian and Middle Eastern communities in which, according to the U.S. government, there are “clear examples” of Muslim groups that “finance terrorist activities.” Hezbollah and Hamas are believed to have operated money-laundering and fundraising activities there. Expatriate Lebanese, of whom 25,000 live in the area, are known to fund Hezbollah. Former president Abdo Benítez is of Lebanese descent.

The potential strategic alliance between Paraguay and Israel is coming at the right moment, after five years of lost opportunities under the feckless foreign policy of Abdo Benítez. In the past, I have emphasized the importance Paraguay poses for Israel, and the United States.

In an August 15th, in a bilateral meeting with Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Eli Cohen, President Santiago Peña Palacios announced the reopening of the embassy of Paraguay in Jerusalem by the end of this year.  A diplomatic chancery was first opened in Jerusalem on May 2018, by then President Horacio Cartes, who is known to be Israel’s most loyal friend in Latin America.

Paraguay is the poorest nation in South America, with institutions too weak to effectively enforce law and order, smothered by poor leadership and high levels of corruption. Only recently it was discovered that Paraguay’s national police force has inherited a debt surpassing $200 million, which it incurred under erstwhile Minister of Interior Federico Gonzalez Franco.

With the war raging in Ukraine, the importance of agricultural commodities has become paramount, and Paraguay can become a world leader in grain, wheat, and beef exports; the country’s industrial leverage can further excel by establishing a strong alliance with Israel in the areas of agricultural technology and airspace monitoring with drones made in Israel.

To this end, Darío César Lezcano Mendoza, a successful Paraguayan entrepreneur and international public relations expert, has organized various official visits of top government leaders from Asunción to Jerusalem. Over the last five years, despite many obstacles lain by the Abdo Benítez government, Lezcano Mendoza  introduced over a dozen of products made by Israeli defense companies and other sectors.

Last May, an order was signed by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, indicating that there is a gold smuggling operation between Iran and various Latin American countries that is funding Hezbollah’s terrorist activity.

It is in the best interest of the Peña Palacios government to employ all necessary means to thoroughly investigate any illegal gold extraction taking place inside Paraguay that may benefit terrorism in the Middle East. Various local sources allege that Abdo Benitez is the main shareholder in Paraguay’s illegal gold trade, and his administration significantly harmed the national interests of Israel and United States in Latin America.

It is the fundamental task of Paraguayan Attorney General Emiliano Rolón Fernández to conduct a full investigation into Abdo Benitez and former vice president Hugo Velázquez Moreno, and their ties to international organized crime and terrorism. The two enmeshed enterprises directly threaten Israel’s territorial integrity and economy.    

Experience teaches us that money laundering benefiting terrorist organizations are taking place in South America and they must be faced unequivocally by local authorities and keep the financiers of terrorism on the run. This can only work if there is close cooperation and a strategic alliance between Israel and Paraguay.   

Currently, the Departments of State and Justice have remained distant from tracking the dark money operations, and smuggling of tobacco and narcotics, so prevalent in Paraguay.  This void can easily be surpassed through the implementation of technological tools that can monitor closely the illegal terrorist operations taking place in the large swaths of territory encompassing Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay.

Peter Tase has lived and worked in Paraguay. A freelance writer, he frequently comments on international relations. 

Sources:  

https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-732802#:~:text=An%2….

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/23/world/asia/brics-nations-new-members…

https://www.algemeiner.com/2022/06/30/iran-has-infiltrated-and-corrupte….

https://www.abc.com.py/politica/2023/08/17/santiago-pena-ratifica-que-r…

https://www.ntn24.com/noticias-actualidad/israel-confirmo-que-paraguay-…