|
 CIUDAD DEL ESTE, Paraguay (AP) - Men lugging shiny stereos, new tires and heavy bundles on their backs stream like ants across the Friendship Bridge, where smugglers lower contraband from Paraguay on ropes to Brazilian runners on the riverbank below.
No one checks passports and anyone asking questions is hustled away in this smugglers' haven near the "Triple Border," where Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina meet — and where contraband electronics, toys, drugs and arms flow across porous borders.
Paraguayan President Nicanor Duarte and Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva met in Paraguay's capital, Asuncion, on Monday and vowed to boost legitimate trade and to strengthen cross-border cooperation in fighting smuggling in the Triple Border. They also signed a pledge to build another bridge on the Parana River separating their countries.
|