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.
Presidente Franco
Pytagua coverage mentioning Presidente Franco.
Only four private vehicles crossed the Integration Bridge in its first week, while regular bus lines and closed-circuit services utilize the structure around the clock, despite documentary restrictions and specific schedules for trucks.
Paraguayan access roads to Puente de la Integración became 15.23% more expensive, reaching G. 926.724 billion, while the bridge over the Monday River reached 45% completion, leaving the cross-border connection between Presidente Franco and Foz de Yguazú incomplete.
An agreement signed by the municipalities of Presidente Franco and Puerto Iguazú and by Blasa Iguazú and Intercom authorizes tourist vehicles carrying passengers to use the ferry between the cities, subject to authorization from national authorities, to expand tourism and generate jobs and development in the region.
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.
A court ordered parents in Presidente Franco to vaccinate their three children after months of refusal, and the children were immunized in compliance with the judicial order.
Brazil begins a military operation on the border with Paraguay, called Operation Ágata, to combat crimes such as smuggling, arms trafficking, and drug trafficking.
Construction on the Puente Bioceánico and Puente de la Integración border bridges is advancing, but the necessary highway access roads and customs facilities required for their full operation are only projected for completion in 2027. Meanwhile, the increase in traffic on one of them is already drawing criticism for a lack of urban planning.
Starting August 3, 2026, the Integration Bridge between Paraguay and Brazil will expand traffic to empty trucks and international urban buses, aiming to ease congestion on the Friendship Bridge and improve border logistics.
Residents of Foz do Iguaçu and Presidente Franco are complaining about noise pollution caused by powerful sound equipment on the Paraguayan side, which crosses the Paraná River and disrupts rest along the border, despite a police enforcement operation that was carried out without continuity.
UNESCO declared Ñacunday National Park and the Moisés Bertoni Scientific Monument as part of the Upper Paraná South Biosphere Reserve in Paraguay during the 38th session of the International Coordinating Council of the Man and the Biosphere Programme.