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The U.S. State Department has issued a warning to Americans against travel to parts of Paraguay because of an outbreak of dengue fever. A statement issued Tuesday said citizens may want to particularly avoid the area of Asuncion, Paraguay, where most of the nation's infections are concentrated. At least 18,000 people in Paraguay have been infected, and at least a dozen of those have died of the severe form of the disease, known as dengue hemorrhagic fever. Some experts say the number of cases is significantly higher than the official reports. Paraguayan officials have been accused of a responding inadequately...

Brazil says triple border area under constant vigilance http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/02/08/america/LA-GEN-Brazil-US-Triple-Border.php The Associated PressPublished: February 8, 2007 BRASILIA, Brazil: Brazil's top law enforcement official Thursday assured his American counterpart that Brazil is taking action to prevent terrorist groups from gaining a foothold in South America's so-called Triple Border. Measures to combat terrorism, drug trafficking and money laundering were among the top issues discussed by Justice Minister Marcio Thomaz Bastos and U.S. Attorney Alberto Gonzales in Brazil's capital. The Triple Border, a porous region where Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina converge, is home to more than 20,000 Arabs — mostly Lebanese Muslims — as...

Dengue sparks Paraguay emergency Hospitals may not be able to cope if cases go on rising, doctors say Paraguay has declared a 60-day state of emergency to deal with an outbreak of dengue fever which has killed at least 10 people in the past two months. Officials say 14,654 people have been diagnosed with dengue. But doctors say the figure is 10 times higher, and are worried about a new more virulent variant of the disease. Brazil and Bolivia have also seen a rise in cases of dengue, which is spread by mosquitoes and is endemic in much of the...

Asuncion, Oct 18 (Prensa Latina) The land grab project of US President George W. Bush in Chaco, Paraguay, has generated considerable discomfort both politically and environmentally. The news circulating the continent about plans to buy 98,840 acres of land in Chaco, Paraguay, near the Triple Frontier (Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay) is the talk of the town in these countries. Although official sources have not confirmed the information that is already public, the land is reportedly located in Paso de Patria, near Bolivian gas reserves and the Guarani indigenous water region, within the Triple Border. Alto Paraguay Gov. Erasmo Rodriguez Acosta revealed...

Paraguay's former military ruler Alfredo Stroessner has died aged 93 in a hospital in the Brazilian capital. General Stroessner had contracted pneumonia after an operation for a hernia on 29 July. Gen Stroessner, who led a military coup in 1954, had lived in exile in Brazil since being ousted in 1989. Paraguay had said earlier it would not pay tribute to him as he was a renegade from justice and was wanted for questioning over alleged rights abuses. Paraguayan judges had, on a number of occasions, requested the extradition of the former leader in connection with Operation Condor, a co-ordinated...

Starting off the day will be Real Salt Lake's Douglas Sequeira and his Costa Rican teammates, who play Ecuador at 8:55 a.m. ET in Hamburg (ESPN2). The ticos showed pluck in their Group A opener against Germany on Friday, making a game of it by scoring twice against the hosts before falling 4-2. The Central Americans will need to have more players get involved in the attack against Ecuador, as Paulo Wanchope provided their only offense. The Ecuadorians got a huge weight off their shoulders by downing Poland 2-0 in their group play opener Friday. Previously, the side had been...

Juan Peron was an Argentinian president who was a dictator who Fascist tendencies from 1946-1955 and 1972-1974, when he died. He was a soldier originally who in a coup became Secretary of Labor in 1943, then he went to prison, because some military personals feared he was getting powerful in 1945, which he goes to jail. Then in October 17th, a large rally occurs calling for the release of Juan Peron, which he is released. He marries Maria Eva Duarte, who becomes Evita Peron. This was Juan Peron's second marriage. His first wife died of cancer. He is elected in...

LONDON – Britain's secret intelligence service, MI6, has established the first proof al-Qaida is playing a major role in the new Cold War between North and South America – with Osama bin Laden's terror network seeing itself in league with Mexican subversives in infiltrating the U.S. border. The evidence emerged as Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez swash-buckled into London after scoring a win in yet another venomous battle with Washington for influence and economic advantage across the Latin American continent. Chavez is in London to meet the capital's anti-Bush mayor, Ken Livingstone, and other prominent British opponents of the war in...

Each year thousands of tourists are drawn to the beauty of Iguacu Falls in an undeveloped area of South America where Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina meet: the Tri-border region. But CBS News correspondent Trish Regan reports that a large, influential Arab population flourishes in the area. Many of them are reaping huge profits in a variety of illegal activities. Members of the American military have charged that the region harbors radical Islamic terrorists, and that the area is a growing threat to U.S. security interests. Millions of dollars flow through these streets every year — and basically nothing is done...

CUIDAD DEL ESTE, PARAGUAY - Outside the Jebay mall, a bustling hive of black market shops guarded by men with pistols and shotguns, a motorcycle taxista shouts from inside his helmet: "They want to control all this. They think terrorists are here." "They" means the US military. The recent arrival of US troops in this landlocked nation of 6 million is brewing fears of the repeat of cold-war intervention in the heart of South America. And in cabs, newspapers, courtyards, and restaurants throughout region, conspiracy theories about Washington's intentions are spreading like wildfire. In May, Paraguay rankled neighbors by hosting...

When the Berlin Wall was torn down, the Soviet Union collapsed, and China pursued market-led development, it seemed safe to assume that the threat of aggressive communism toppling national dominoes and dominating an entire continent was gone forever. But while America has focused its attention elsewhere, communism is on the move in South America, and the shape of a serious plan to dominate our neighboring continent has become evident. Even worse, our natural ally to resist such domination is strangely uninterested in defending its turf. On a scale not seen since the 1960s, Cuba's Fidel Castro and his new ally,...

Disaster Relief: Ninety-five nations have pledged $1 billion in aid in the wake of Katrina, and while the U.S. can manage, it's heartening. But one government that wishes us ill has jumped in and it should be rebuked. We're talking about our antagonist of the last half-century, Fidel Castro. Cuba's dictator headed straight for the TV cameras to make the most of an offer of 1,600 doctors. Given how his munificence pales in comparison, say, to Kuwait's quietly pledged $500 million, it's amazing how much publicity he's reaped. But Castro's offer of medical help, supposedly waiting at the Havana airport,...

Qatar pledged $100 million in humanitarian assistance Saturday to help Americans recover from Hurricane Katrina, heading a list of more than a dozen countries joining an outpouring of support. They added to the more than 50 countries who had made pledges by the end of the day Friday. ``In these difficult circumstances, the people and the government of the state of Qatar would like to assure the people of the United States of its support and desire to assist the people in the affected area along the United States Gulf Coast,'' said a statement from the oil-rich Persian Gulf state's...

In an accelerating drive, more than 50 countries have pledged money or other assistance to help Americans recover from Hurricane Katrina. Cuba and Venezuela have offered to help despite differences with Washington. Oil giant Saudi Arabia and small countries like Sri Lanka and Dominica are among the nations making pledges. "I hope that will remind Americans that we are all part of the same community," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday as offers kept pouring in. None has been turned down, Rice said at a news conference, disputing a report from Moscow that a Russian offer had been rejected....

Tuesday, August 23, 2005 The Dark Frontier Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's press conference enroute to Paraguay is interesting for a number of reasons -- the first being Paraguay itself. The Power and Interest News summarizes the region's strategic importance to the US. South America is wracked by a confluence of resurgent Marxism, fueled by Venezuela and Cuba; failing states and coca. Of particular interest is the Tri-Border area, centered on the town of Ciudad del Este in Paraguay on the border of Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina. The Associated Press described it as "a key South American point for Islamic terrorist...

The U.S. military is conducting secretive operations in Paraguay and reportedly building a new base there. Human rights groups and military analysts in the region believe trouble is brewing. However, the U.S. embassy in Paraguay denies the base exists and describes the military activity as routine. According to an article in the Bolivian newspaper El Deber, a U.S. base is being developed in Mariscal Estigarribia, 200 kilometers from the border with Bolivia, and reportedly will permit the landing of large aircraft and the housing up to 16,000 troops. A contingent of 500 U.S. troops arrived in Paraguay on July 1...

All US military leave has been cancelled ... something big is in the works! THE INTERNATIONAL FORECASTER editor Bob Chapman writes: The US military is building a new base and conducting secretive operations in Paraguay ... our Embassy there refuses to acknowledge a base exists and describes the military activity as routine. The base is in Mariscal Estigarribia, 200 km (127 miles) from the Bolivian border and will handle large aircraft and accommodate 16,000 troops. There are now 500 of our troops there with planes, weapons, equipment and ammunition. Either before, during, or after the coming presidential election we expect...

The president continues his working vacation in Crawford, Texas, with the esteemed Mrs. Bush. I haven't found new photos of them for today, but there are a few of other administration officials and employees. A new White House Chef has been hired: Chef Cristeta 'Cris' Comerford from the Philippines, who was hired to "give the White House menus a lighter, more American flair." Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld is in Latin America for three days; he is in Paraguay for two days. Welcome to Sanity Island!

COMBITA, Colombia - A guerrilla leader whose capture in neighboring Venezuela sparked a bitter diplomatic row says he was a political envoy who maintained regular relations with foreign ministers and other officials in Latin America, Europe and Africa. In his first media interview since his arrest last year, Rodrigo Granda, who went on trial this week on charges of rebellion, denied police allegations that he was also involved in bomb-making, arms trafficking and kidnapping. Granda is being held in the maximum security wing of the prison here in the windswept mountains of central Colombia, along with a handful of high-profile...

RIO DE JANEIRO, July 29 - As he campaigned for the presidency in 2002, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva boldly pledged to clean up the sordid politics of Brazil. His, he vowed, would be an ethical, honest and moral government the likes of which Brazil had never seen. That pledge helped him win the votes of more than 50 million Brazilians and a sweeping mandate. But now, in a gloomy echo of what has happened time and again across Latin America, Mr. da Silva's government is mired in the biggest, most audacious corruption scandal in his country's history. A congressional...