Interpol arrests 26 on triple border for deforestation, trafficking of native trees

An operation involving Interpol and authorities in Paraguay has led to the arrest of 26 people allegedly involved in the illegal deforestation and trafficking of native trees in the tri-border region between Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay.

“Paraguayan authorities have arrested 26 people and uncovered two criminal networks and 12 companies allegedly involved in the illegal deforestation and trafficking of native tree species ... as part of the operation led by Paraguay and coordinated by Interpol,” the international police organisation said in a statement issued on Monday.

During the operation, known as “Panthera Onca,” 28 separate crimes were detected and some 1,000 quebracho wood logs and 250 poles, said Interpol.

Quebracho wood is prized for its density and high tannin content and criminal networks destroy the environment for profit.

“Illegal deforestation covers a wide spectrum of criminal activities, ranging from document fraud to money-laundering to corruption,” said Kat Henn, Interpol's deputy director of environmental security

The tri-border region is a hotspot for both legal trade and illicit networks because of its strategic position where the northeast of Argentina, east of Paraguay and south of Brazil converges, said the international body.

Deforestation is also linked to cattle-ranching. In the Brazilian Amazon, the world's leading exporter of beef, 77 percent of the land deforested between 1985 and 2022 was converted to pasture, according to the MapBiomas organisation.

The arrests come with the environment and deforestation high on the agenda. Earlier this month, the European Union (EU) reached a free-trade agreement – which still has to be ratified by member states – with the Mercosur bloc of Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay. 

The South American nations will increase their quotas for entry into the EU for beef, among other products.

However, some Euro nations, such as France and Italy, and their farming unions denounce the deal as competition, stating that food production in Latin America is not subject to the same environmental and social requirements or to the same health standards in the event of defective controls.

In addition, the EU adopted a law in 2022 that, as of December 30, 2025, will ban the import of products that generate deforestation or come from deforested land after December 2020.

– TIMES/AFP