Triple Frontier

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The Triple Frontier should not be confused with Tres Fronteras, at the common border among Brazil, Peru, and Colombia.

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The Triple Frontier (Spanish: Hito Tres Fronteras, English: Three Borders Landmark, Portuguese: Tríplice Fronteira) is the tri-border area along the junction of Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil near the cities of Ciudad del Este, Alto Paraná; Puerto Iguazú, Misiones and Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná respectively and is the location of the Iguazu Falls, largest waterfalls in the world, and the Itaipu, the largest hydroelectric plant in the world.

At the Hito Tres Fronteras, the Iguazú and the Paraná rivers converge. It is an important tourist area, within the touristic subregion of the Región de las Aguas Grandes, with key hydroelectric resources. Visitors can see the Tancredo Neves bridge, which connects the Argentine city of Puerto Iguazú and its Brazilian neighbor, Foz do Iguaçu.

At this landmark, one can see the three countries at once. Furthermore, a visitor can see an obelisk in each country, painted with the national colors of the country in which it is located. Also, there is an artisanal fair at this landmark, where one can buy artisanal and artistic works characteristic of the surrounding area.

The frontier is very lightly-guarded and serves as a haven for car theft, counterfeiting, arms and drug trafficking, smuggling, money laundering, and other illicit activities.

In 2002, and again in 2006, the United States Treasury Department mentioned in a memo that there are "clear examples" of Islamic groups in the region that "finance terrorist activities". Groups like Egypt's al-Gama'at al-Islamiyya, Islamic Jihad, Hizballah, and Al Qaeda are believed to draw some of their funding from activities in the Triple Frontier #redirect .

A military training agreement with Asunción (Paraguay), giving immunity to US soldiers, caused some concern after media reports initially reported that a base housing 20,000 US soldiers was being built at Mariscal Estigarribia within 200 km of Argentina and Bolivia, and 300 km of Brazil, near an airport which could receive large planes (B-52, C-130 Hercules, etc.) which the Paraguan Air Forces do not have. [US Marines put a foot in Paraguay], El Clarín, September 9, 2005 () . The governments of Paraguay and the United States subsequently declared that the use of an airport (Dr Luís María Argaña International)[link] was one point of transfer for few soldiers in Paraguay at the same time. According to the Clarín argentinian newspaper, the US military base is strategic because of its location near the Triple Frontier; its proximity towards the Guarani aquifer; and, finally, its closeness toward Bolivia (less than 200 km) at the same "moment that Washington's magnifying glass goes on the Altiplano and points toward Venezuelian Hugo Chávez — the regional demon according to Bush's administration — as the instigator of the instability in the region" (El Clarín ).

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