Paraguay rejects U.S. terror-funding accusations
Source: Reuters
ASUNCION, Paraguay, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Paraguay on Thursday rejected U.S. charges the border area it shares with Brazil and Argentina is a center of funding for guerrilla groups, including Lebanon's Hezbollah. The United States, which considers Hezbollah a terrorist organization, froze the U.S. assets of nine people and two businesses on Wednesday in the so-called triple border area that is home to a large Arab community. The Treasury Department said they had raised and transferred cash for Hezbollah through the porous border region that links the South American countries. Paraguay's Foreign Ministry said in a statement there was no evidence of terrorism-funding activities in the area. "According to the information available, no terrorism activities have been detected in the triple border area," it said. "The information presented by the United States does not offer new elements that could affirm the existence of terrorist activities in the region, including the funding of terrorism." It added some of the people listed by the U.S. Treasury on Wednesday had already been investigated and that two had been convicted of tax evasion in Paraguay. The U.S. government has raised concerns for recent years about the border zone. Brazil has also denied the allegations.
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