Crime in Paraguay has increased in recent years with criminals often targeting those thought to be wealthy.
. U.S. Department of State (September 15, 2008). Although most

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

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 ...

is nonviolent, there has been an increase in the use of weapons and there have been incidents where extreme violence has been used.

Crime by type

Armed violence

The amount of

gang A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collective ...

violence and other forms of armed violence has increased since the

1954 Paraguayan coup d'état The 1954 Paraguayan coup d'état occurred in May 1954. It was led by Alfredo Stroessner, with the support of Epifanio Méndez Fleitas, and resulted in the overthrow of the government of Federico Chávez. The coup was the culmination of a comple ...

Cigarette smuggling

Due to discrepancies in the cigarette tax rate between

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

(16% in Paraguay vs. 80% in Brazil), large quantities of cigarettes are smuggled into Brazil via Santa Catarina. Journalists have alleged that the Tabacalera Del Este factory owned by relatives of Paraguayan President

Horacio Cartes Horacio Manuel Cartes Jara (born 5 July 1956) is a Paraguayan businessman and politician who served as the president of Paraguay from 2013 to 2018. He is a member of the Colorado Party. Cartes owns about two dozen businesses in his Grupo Carte ...

, is responsible for producing cigarettes for the purpose of being smuggled into Brazil via

Ciudad del Este Ciudad del Este (, Spanish for Eastern City; often shortered as CDE) is the second-largest city in Paraguay and capital of the Alto Paraná Department, situated on the Paraná River. It is located 327 km from Asunción, the capital, and is ...

Corruption

Observers maintain that corruption in Paraguay remains a major impediment to the emergence of stronger democratic institutions and sustainable economic development."Paraguay: Background and U.S. Relations"
(RL34180). Olhero, Nelson & Mark P. Sullivan.

Congressional Research Service The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a public policy research institute of the United States Congress. Operating within the Library of Congress, it works primarily and directly for members of Congress and their committees and staff on a ...

(September 20, 2007).

Domestic violence

In 2009, on average one woman was murdered in Paraguay every 10 days, or 11.2% of the overall homicide rate. However, it is not clear exactly how many women are killed in domestic violence situations. Although Paraguay has taken several measures to deal with this problem, including creating special police units for domestic violence victims, lack of adequate laws, as well as conservative attitudes within a male dominated society hinder progress.

Environmental crime

Illegal drug trade

The illegal drug trade in Paraguay is significant in both production of

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternative ...

and trans-shipment of

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...

.''Global Study on Homicide''.

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC; French: ''Office des Nations unies contre la drogue et le crime'') is a United Nations office that was established in 1997 as the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention by combining the ...

, 2013. In 2011 the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

reported that it was the largest cannabis producer in South America, accounting for 15 per cent of world cannabis production.

, 9 November 2011
UNODC and Paraguay launch $10 million programme to combat drugs and crime
/ref> It was also responsible for 30-40 tons of cocaine trans-shipment annually.

Murder

In 2012, Paraguay had a murder rate of 9.7 per 100,000 population. There were a total of 649 murders in Paraguay in 2012. In 2015, this had decreased to a rate of 9.29 per 100,000, with 617 murders recorded. Year 2012, the last year for which the latest homicide rates broken down by gender are available, female victims constituted 11.2% of the total, with male victims 88.8% respectively. Year 2018, for which the latest statistics are available, saw a further reduction in Paraguay's homicide rate to 5.1 per 100,000.

Robbery

Armed robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...

carjackings Carjacking is a robbery in which the item taken over is a motor vehicle.Michael Cherbonneau, "Carjacking," in ''Encyclopedia of Social Problems'', Vol. 1 (SAGE, 2008: ed. Vincent N. Parrillo), pp. 110-11. In contrast to car theft, carjacking is ...

car theft Motor vehicle theft (also known as a car theft and, in the United States, grand theft auto) is the criminal act of stealing or attempting to steal a motor vehicle. Nationwide in the United States in 2020, there were 810,400 vehicles reported ...

, and home invasions are a problem in both urban and rural areas. Street crime including

pick pocketing Pickpocketing is a form of larceny that involves the stealing of money or other valuables from the person or a victim's pocket without them noticing the theft at the time. It may involve considerable dexterity and a knack for misdirection. A t ...

and mugging is prevalent in cities. As of 2008, the number of pick pocketing incidents and armed assaults was increasing on public buses and in the downtown area of

Asunción Asunción (, , , Guarani: Paraguay) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay o ...

. There have been incidents of pilferage from checked baggage at both airports and bus terminals. Unauthorized ticket vendors also reportedly operate at the Asuncion bus terminal, badgering travelers into buying tickets for substandard or non-existent services.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crime In Paraguay Society of Paraguay