Hernandarias

Sociologist Carlos Peris says violence and organized crime money in Paraguay’s municipal campaigns could lead to attacks, robberies and self-staged coups, including an internal coup by a candidate’s own team to finance a future campaign. He predicts conditions will worsen as the October 4 elections approach and more money is expected to circulate.

Thirty packages containing 31.9 kilograms of suspected cocaine base were found beneath a truck cab in Ciudad del Este. The driver said he was transporting rice grains, and the vehicle was first taken to the Central Base of the Alto Paraná Regional Investigations Department and then to the Anti-Narcotics Department in Presidente Franco.

Itaipu is keeping its spillway open after flow rose 61%, from 1,735 to about 2,800 m³/s, a change attributed by the binational entity to upstream rainfall and demand from interconnected systems. Technicians explained the alternation between spillway channels, while Silver Guerrero told Radio Nacional that operations could change depending on rainfall, with minimal impact on riverside residents for now, normal generation and tourist visits available.

Alto Paraná is home to 160 of Paraguay’s 324 maquila companies and receives about 90% of business inquiries from Brazil, while the 17th Expo Paraguay Brasil seeks to attract more than US$600 million in investment through productive integration between the two countries.

Paraguay Business Week will bring together investment, trade, maquila and support for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises from November 11 to 13 at the TASK Center in Hernandarias, with more than 10,000 participants expected and US$1 billion in projected business, strengthening business ties between Paraguay and Brazil.

Brazil is negotiating with Paraguay to reduce the DTVF fee before private vehicles begin crossing the Integration Bridge on September 14, under a regime restricted to residents of four border cities.

From September 14, 2026, residents of Ciudad del Este, Presidente Franco, Hernandarias and Foz do Iguaçu will be able to cross the Puente de la Integración in private cars from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. using the Documento de Tránsito Vecinal Fronterizo, while empty trucks will have extended access from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m.

The National Anti-Drug Secretariat (SENAD) dismantled two drug sales points in Asunción and Hernandarias this week, seized narcotics, and arrested two suspects.

Paraguay's Ministry of Industry and Commerce launched the Expo Maquila and Plaza Mipymes platforms, which will be part of the Paraguay Business Week 2026 in Alto Paraná with the goal of generating $1 billion in business.

Paraguay's National Constitution turns 34 this Saturday, June 20, marking the post-Stroessner dictatorship democratic era, but it faces threats of authoritarianism and noncompliance with its provisions, according to assessments by constitutional scholars and authorities.

The Court of Asunción has definitively confiscated an aircraft carrying 265 kg of cocaine and sentenced Bolivian pilot Lucio Paz Fernández to 14 years and Peruvian copilot Elmer Figueroa Paredes to 13 years in prison for international drug trafficking.

Expert questions Paraguay's sovereignty in the Yguazú Digital project, a mega artificial intelligence center with Taiwan that will use energy from Itaipú, warning that the country will have no control over hardware, algorithms, or significant job generation.

Itaipú Binacional has launched five tenders totaling nearly US$11.4 million for private security services, gardening, tree pruning, and mineral water supply.