Security & Strategic Review - April 2024

Representatives from business associations were among those to take to the streets on 4 March in Ciudad del Este (CDE), the capital of Alto Paraná department and Paraguay’s main commercial hub along the triple border with Brazil and Argentina, calling on national law enforcement and judicial authorities to address robberies, assaults, and violence. The city’s mayor, Miguel Prieto, was among those calling for these demonstrations following high-profile crimes, such as the robbery of a vault owned by the city’s money changers’ association the previous month. Paraguay’s central government has recognised the security concerns in CDE, the country’s second largest city, and announced in late February that officers from the national police (PN) would be deployed to support local law enforcement.