Ponta Porã (MS) – Sharing information and integrating missions is one of the strategies used by Brazil and Paraguay to stifle organized crime on the border. Mirror operations, as Joint Operation Ágata Oeste and Basalto are called, are taking place simultaneously in both countries and are the result of intelligence work by the Armed Forces, coordinated by the Brazilian Ministry of Defense, in partnership with the Paraguayan government.
Since September 1, Operation Ágata Oeste, under the command of the Brazilian Air Force, has employed more than 1,700 military personnel from the Armed Forces to combat cross-border crimes along the 2,532 kilometers of Brazil’s western border strip. On the other side of the border, troops from the Paraguayan Army, numbering around 1,900, are working under the coordination of the Internal Defense Operations Command of the Paraguayan Armed Forces in Operation Basalto.
The advance of the troops, at various points along the border, such as Ponta Porã (MS) and Pedro Juan Caballero (PY), is taking place in a coordinated manner. In two actions in the first week of September, troops from the Brazilian and Paraguayan Armies carried out simultaneous inspections on side roads in both countries, which have a dry border of more than 460 kilometers.
During an inspection of the component forces of Operation Ágata Fronteira, on September 9, at the 11th Mechanized Cavalry Regiment, in Ponta Porã (MS), the Commander of the Joint Command of Operation Ágata Fronteira, Air Brigadier Major Luiz Cláudio Macedo, highlighted the importance of the partnership between Brazil and Paraguay.
“Sharing information in mirrored operations, such as Operation Ágata in Brazil and Basalto in Paraguay, gives us great security. Without this work, together with the Brazilian agencies, nothing would have been done for this operation. For us, it’s a guarantee that the coordinated and integrated work will fulfill its objective, which is to curb the practice of illicit activities in the border region.”
The two countries currently estimate that, with the operations taking place simultaneously, the flow of marijuana production in Paraguay will be stifled, generating a “stockpile” of around 450 tons of drugs in the neighboring country and facilitating the action of Paraguayan security forces in seizing the narcotics.
Representing the Paraguayan Army at the inspection, Brigadier General Acuña, praised the joint work with Brazil to advance the fight against organized crime.
“Mirror operations, like Basalto, are subsidiary missions that we carry out from time to time and that are part of our National Defense Policy. We are acting against emerging threats, this is a reality that Paraguay is facing. We are dealing with all types of crime, such as transnational organized crime. We’re learning from Brazil, specifically through Operation Ágata, to do detailed planning work to deal with these situations.”
For the Paraguayan Army, the integration of the mirrored missions has an effect against organized crime that goes beyond the number of seizures made during the days of the operation. “The message we want to make clear to organized crime is that we are together, both countries and all the security institutions, to confront them.”
The Brazilian Army has police powers along the 150 km border, according to legal provisions, and the border between Brazil and Paraguay has historically been an area of intense activity, including trade, tourism and illicit activities such as smuggling and drug trafficking.
The cooperation between the countries, which also includes the participation of the National Anti-Drug Secretariat (Senad), the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the National Police and federal arms control and tax crime agencies, is moving towards expanding the partnership and bringing the two countries’ forces closer together.
Joint Operation Ágata West Border
Operation Ágata West is part of the Federal Government’s Integrated Border Protection Program (PPIF) and is characterized by integrated actions between MAron and various public security and border agencies, including federal and state agencies. This collaboration aims to ensure a coordinated and efficient response to threats in the region.
In this edition, 12 aircraft, 16 vessels and 217 vehicles are being used, as well as the Lessonia Project satellite and the Hermes RQ-900 Remotely Piloted Aircraft, which will enable more effective and comprehensive surveillance of the area of operation.