The Triple Frontier ( es, Triple Frontera, pt, Tríplice Fronteira) is a tri-border area along the junction of

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

, where the Iguazú and Paraná rivers converge. Near the confluence are the cities of

Puerto Iguazú Puerto Iguazú is a border city in the province of Misiones, Argentina. With a population of 82,227 (), it is the fourth largest city in the Province, after Posadas, Oberá, and Eldorado. The world-renowned Iguazú Falls are only away from ...

(Argentina), Foz do Iguaçu (Brazil) and Ciudad del Este (Paraguay). This area is near

Iguazú Falls Iguazú Falls or Iguaçu Falls ( gn, Chororõ Yguasu , es, Cataratas del Iguazú, links=no ; pt, Cataratas do Iguaçu ) are waterfalls of the Iguazu River on the border of the Argentine province of Misiones and the Brazilian state of Paraná. ...

and the Itaipú hydroelectric plant.

Population

The population in the Triple Frontier is concentrated in three border cities and in the Paraguayan metropolitan region. Of these, the largest is Ciudad del Este in Paraguay, which in 2018 had a population of 299,255, while the smallest with a population of 82,227 is Puerto Iguazú, Argentina. The tourist-centric Brazilian city Foz do Iguaçu has a population of 300,000. In the metropolitan region of the Paraguayan side, Porto Franco has a population in 2018 of 98,805; Hernandarias, 79,036; and Minga Guazú, 86,755. Altogether, the population of the Triple Frontier adds up to about 950,000 people. The

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

and other

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

immigrant communities, which make up an important part of the urban population in the Tri-Border Area, are estimated to number approximately 30,000.

Tourism

The Triple Frontier is an important tourist area, within the touristic subregion of the Región de las Aguas Grandes. Visitors can see the Tancredo Neves bridge, which connects the Argentine city of Puerto Iguazú and its Brazilian neighbor, Foz do Iguaçu. At the convergence of the borders, each of the three bordering countries has erected an

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...

, painted in the national colors of the country in which it is located. All three countries can be seen from each of the obelisks. Argentine Obelisk

The Guarani Aquifer is arguably the biggest reservoir of fresh, potable water in the world—right under Triple Border soil (Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay). The majority (71%) of its 1.2 million square kilometers lies in Brazil. Brazilian Obelisk

US Security concerns

The

George W. Bush administration George W. Bush's tenure as the 43rd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2001, and ended on January 20, 2009. Bush, a Republican from Texas, took office following a narrow victory over Democratic in ...

cited "clear examples" of Islamic groups in the tri-border region in 2002 that "finance terrorist activities."

Hezbollah Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...

and

Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...

were believed at the time to operate in the Triple Frontier."Frontier in terror spotlight"

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

The particular geography of the border region, rampant political corruption and weak judicial system make it very difficult to monitor

organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

and the illicit activities connected with it. To U.S. officials and law enforcement familiar with the region, "Iranian-backed

militia have been fostering a well-financed force of Islamist radicals in the region". A counter-terrorism expert with

the Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...

's National Security Study Group described the Tri-border in 2007 as "the most important base for Hezbollah outside

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

itself, home to a community of dangerous fanatics that send their money to financially support Hezbollah." Of the 25,000 Lebanese

Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...

who live in the region, not all support terrorism, but many openly acknowledge they send money to Hezbollah and that Shiite mosques have "an obligation to finance it". The Paraguayan authorities say they have evidence that money is being sent to organizations with terrorist connections because of the amount of money leaving Paraguay for the Middle East, said Carlos Altemburger, Chief of the Department for the Prevention and Investigation of Terrorism in Paraguay. In response to the situation, Paraguay approved the entry of 400 US soldiers "for joint military exercises, such as programs on fighting urban terrorists, public security and humanitarian assistance", according to ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

''. However, in October 2006 Paraguay decided not to renew a defense-cooperation agreement. Foz do Iguaçu tourist groups dispute the reports of terrorist activity in the region, as has the

U.S. State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...

. Since 1996, the Tripartite Command of the Triple Frontier, which coordinates monitoring tasks among the three bordering countries, has been operating from Foz do Iguaçu. The 3+1 Group was created between Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and the United States (the "1"), in 2002 to further strengthen security in the region. In 2005, the governments of the three nations stated they would set up a joint intelligence center in Foz do Iguaçu specifically to monitor the situation.

In popular culture

* The Triple Frontier (or here referenced as the Tri-Border Area) is featured as the backdrop for the ''

NCIS NCIS or N.C.I.S. may refer to: Law enforcement * National Criminal Intelligence Service, the predecessor to the Serious Organised Crime Agency of the United Kingdom * Naval Criminal Investigative Service, a United States law enforcement and intelli ...

'' episode " An Eye for an Eye", as NCIS Special Agents Anthony DiNozzo and Caitlin Todd must travel down to this area of southern Paraguay in order to investigate a professor involved in a case in which a pair of blue eyeballs were mailed to a murder victim. * '' The Mission (1986 film)'' is set in this region in the 1750s. * The Triple Frontier is also featured as the location for '' The Unit'' episode " The Kill Zone", where Unit operators must rescue a member of their counterpart team, Team Charlie, during a hostage situation. * In the Vince Flynn novel ''Extreme Measures'', a terrorist group funded by al-Qaeda trains and plans to execute terrorist attacks on America while living in the Triple Frontier. * In the 2006 film ''

Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann (director), Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo ...

'',

Sonny Crockett Sonny is a common nickname and occasional given name. Often it can be a derivative of the English word "Son", a name derived from the Ancient Germanic element *sunn meaning "sun", a nickname derived from the Italian name Salvatore (especially in N ...

and Rico Tubbs first meet with the drug cartel they are trying to infiltrate in the Tri-Border Area. * Featured in the '' Human Target'' episode " The Return of Baptiste", as the location where a kidnapped reporter is held by a crime lord. The accents and geography shown in the episode are inaccurate for this region. * Included as a major setting of the location for the

Sebastian Rotella Sebastian Rotella is an American foreign correspondent, investigative journalist, and novelist. Biography Rotella was born in Chicago, Illinois, and graduated from the University of Michigan. While at the University of Michigan, he won four Hop ...

novel ''Triple Crossing''. * Season 1, episode 7 ("Borderlines") of '' SEAL Team'' revolves around a mission to the Tri-Border Area. * Season 2, Episode 11 (Day I Met the Devil) Magnum P.I. Magnum is called up from the reserves for a top secret mission, but his friends are stunned when they learn that the mission is a lie and Magnum has been set up. (TV-14 L, V) Air Date: Dec 13, 2019

References

External links