Terrorist Groups in Paraguay’s Southeast Region
U.S.-sanctioned terrorist groups, including Hezbollah, al-Qaeda, and Hamas, are believed to recruit, plan attacks, and fundraise in the Tri-Border Area (TBA) of South America, and within Paraguay specifically.
The TBA is considered by law enforcement to be a concentrated area of criminal and terrorist activity. Individuals affiliated with Hezbollah, Hamas, and al-Qaeda, have conducted fundraising activities and plotted attacks from the region, often with the assistance of cartels and organized crime groups. Paraguay’s second largest city, Ciudad del Este, is one of principal centers of illicit activity there. * "The many criminal heads of the Golden Hydra," Counter Extremism Project, accessed May 25, 2016, https://www.counterextremism.com/sites/default/files/The%20Many%20Criminal%20Heads%20of%20the%20Golden%20Hydra%20%28May%202018%29.pdf; "Terrorist and Organized Crime Groups in the Tri-Border Area (TBA) of South America," Library of Congress, July 2003, 2, 20, https://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/pdf-files/TerrOrgCrime_TBA.pdf. x
CEP calls on Paraguay to clarify the status of the following individuals affiliated with internationally sanctioned terrorist organizations, and if appropriate, arrest, expel, or otherwise cut off support to them:
Served as a senior Hezbollah official and fundraiser in the TBA.* He was imprisoned in 2002 on tax evasion charges.* The U.S. Department of the Treasury designated him a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in December 2006.* He was released from Paraguayan custody in 2009, and has reportedly traveled abroad on a Paraguayan passport as recently as 2017.*
Served as a senior leader and fundraiser for Hezbollah in the TBA, and as the owner and manager of the U.S.-designated Galería Page shopping center (today known as Shopping Uniamérica) in Ciudad del Este as of 2010.* The U.S. Department of the Treasury designated him a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in December 2006. At the time, he held Paraguayan citizenship.*
Served as a Hezbollah operative and as the administrator of the U.S.-designated Galería Page shopping center (today known as Shopping Uniamérica) in Ciudad del Este.* The U.S. Department of the Treasury designated him a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in December 2006. At the time, he held Paraguayan citizenship.* He reportedly continues to reside in Ciudad del Este.*
Served as a Hezbollah fundraiser in the TBA.* The U.S. Department of the Treasury designated him a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in December 2006. At the time, he held Paraguayan citizenship.* He reportedly continues to operate a business in the U.S.-designated Shopping Uniamérica shopping center (previously known as Galería Page) in Ciudad del Este.*
Served as the chief of Hezbollah’s military and fundraising operations in the TBA until he was arrested in 2002.*The U.S. Department of the Treasury designated him a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in June 2004.* He was released from Paraguayan custody in 2009.*Brazilian police arrested him in September 2018 near the TBA. He is wanted by Paraguay for identity theft and by Argentina for money laundering in an Argentine casino.* Brazilian authorities extradited Barakat to Paraguay in July 2020.*
Served as a Hezbollah fundraiser and counterintelligence official in the TBA. Also reportedly may have succeeded Assad Ahmad Barakat as the leader of Hezbollah in the region.* The U.S. Department of the Treasury designated him a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in December 2006. At the time, he held Paraguayan citizenship.*
Part of a network of Hezbollah financiers in the TBA until he was convicted and sentenced to six years in Paraguayan prison in June 2006 for document falsification.* The U.S. Department of the Treasury designated him a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in December 2006. At the time, he held a Paraguayan passport.* Barakat has since been released from Paraguayan custody, and his current whereabouts are uncertain.*
CEP also calls on Paraguay to shut down the following internationally sanctioned terrorist entity:
Shopping Uniamérica (Galería Page):
Shopping Uniamérica (previously known as Galería Page) is a shopping center in Ciudad del Este that reportedly serves as a “regional command post” and “central headquarters” for Hezbollah in the TBA. It is managed and owned by Hezbollah members. The businesses there are operated by Hezbollah members and used to generate funds for the group. * The U.S. Department of the Treasury designated it a Specially Designated Terrorist Entity in December 2006. *
Paraguayan authorities reportedly deny the continued presence of Hezbollah in the country. * Paraguay needs to acknowledge Hezbollah’s presence and proactively apply its counterterrorism legislation to combat Hezbollah and other internationally sanctioned terrorist groups operating in the TBA.
Fact Sheet: Paraguay’s Support of Terror Financing
Paraguay and Terrorism in the Tri-Border Area Paraguay continues to allow representatives of Hezbollah and other internationally designated entities freedom of movement in the country.