Triple border

The population of the Triple Border is concentrated in three border cities. The largest among them is Ciudad del Este, which is inhabited by 390 thousand people (2010), and the smallest is Puerto Iguazu, with a population of 82 thousand. Foz de Iguaçu, one of the Brazilian tourist centers, is inhabited by 300 thousand people. The Arab and Asian diasporas, which represent a significant part of the urban population in a given area, are estimated to be 50,000. The largest community is the Lebanese: the civil war led to the mass migration of its inhabitants, many of whom found refuge in the Paraguayan city of Ciudad del Este ^[1] .

The triple border is an important tourist site located near another tourist attraction - the Great Waters Region. You can also see the Tancredo Heaven Bridge, which connects the Argentine Puerto Iguazu with its Brazilian neighbor Foz de Iguazu. At the border crossing point, each of the three countries installed an obelisk, painted in the colors of the corresponding national flag. From the location of the obelisk you can see all the countries.
The Guarani aquifer is probably the world's largest reservoir of fresh, drinkable water, and is located directly below the ground on which the Triple Frontier is located. The largest part (71%) of the 1.2 million square kilometers of this area is located in Brazil.

The US government claims "unshakable evidence" of the presence of radical Islamic groups on the Triple Frontier territory, which "are financing terrorist attacks." It is believed that such groups as the Egyptian Al-Gamaa al-Islamia , Islamic Jihad , Hezbollah and Al-Qaeda receive income from the implementation of terrorist activities in the region ^[2] .
Features of the geographical location of the region, rampant corruption and a weak judicial system makes it impossible to objectively assess the level of organized crime and related illegal activities ^[3] . Moreover, the Paraguayan side is the most convenient for carrying out terrorist activities due to the absence of anti-terrorism laws in this country. Thus, the financial support of terrorist organizations is not prosecuted by law and their activities are not controlled by anything. According to representatives of the United States and law enforcement officials familiar with the situation in the region, the Iran-supported illegal armed group Hezbollah provides good financial support to radical Islamists based in the region. ^[4]
An anti-terrorism specialist from the Pentagon ’s national security research team described the Triple Frontier as “Hezbollah’s most important base outside Lebanon, home to a community of dangerous fanatics who are willing to invest their money in Hezbollah’s development” ^[4] . Among the 25,000 Lebanese Arabs living in the region, not everyone supports terrorism, but a significant part is openly recognized for providing financial support to Hezbollah and local Shiite mosques "are also obliged to finance them" ^[4] .
The authorities in Paraguay have reported evidence of funding for terrorism-related organizations, manifested in the volume of financial flows from Paraguay to the Middle East, says Carlos Amberberger, head of the Department of Research and Counter-Terrorism in Paraguay ^[2] . In confirmation, Paraguay reported the arrival of 400 US soldiers "for joint military exercises, implementation of programs to counter urban terrorism, public security and humanitarian support," says Washington Post ^[5] . However, in October 2006, Paraguay decided not to renew the agreement ^[6] .
In 2005, authorities in all three countries reported that they would set up an exploration center in Foz do Iguaçu specifically to control the situation ^[7] .

Tourists visiting this city question the reports of terrorist activity in the region ^[8] .