Mariscal Estigarribia

Coordinates: 22°2′0″S 60°38′0″W / 22.033333°S 60.633333°W / -22.033333; -60.633333

US military bases in South America.

Mariscal Estigarribia is a town in the Boquerón Department, Paraguay.

Strategic importance

Mariscal Estigarribia is home to Dr. Luis Maria Argaña International Airport (IATA code: ESG),^[1] which some media reports claim is a US military base set up to provide access to the strategic Triple Frontera region.

400 US troops arrived in Paraguay in July 2005, shortly after the Paraguayan Senate granted US troops diplomatic immunity. Hundreds of US military personnel are rotated though Paraguay each year, though the military has stated that the total number in the country will not exceed 10-20 at any time.^[2]

According to the Clarín Argentinian newspaper, Mariscal Estigarribia would be a strategic location for a military base because of its proximity to the Triple Frontera between Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina; the Guarani aquifer; and Bolivia (less than 200km_ at a time when "Washington's magnifying glass goes on the Altiplano and points toward Venezuelan Hugo Chávez—the regional demon according to Bush's administration—as the instigator of the instability in the region".^[3]

The US and Paraguayan governments deny that the US military is establishing a base at Mariscal Estigarribia. The US government said "...limited, short-term deployments of U.S. military personnel are scheduled to take place for a series of joint exercises with the Paraguayan military between July 2005 and December 2006. Most personnel deployed will not remain in Paraguay for more than 45 days."^[4]

A Brazilian weekly news magazine, CartaCapital, published an investigative article on 25 April 2008, that dismisses what it calls a conspiracy theory about the base.^{[citation needed]}

References

1. ^ "Aeroflight Countries of the World - Paraguay". Aeroflight. http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/waf/americas/paraguay/Paraguay-Home.htm. Retrieved 20 December 2008. 
2. ^ "U.S. Military Moves in Paraguay Rattle Regional Relations". International Relations Center. 14 December 2005. http://americas.irc-online.org/am/2991. Retrieved April 2006. 
3. ^ US Marines put a foot in Paraguay, El Clarín, 9 September 2005 (Spanish)
4. ^ "United States Has No Plans for Military Base in Paraguay". US Department of State. 11 January 2006. http://www.america.gov/st/pubs-english/2006/January/20060111094434atlahtnevel0.827984.html. Retrieved October 22, 2010. 

External links

• Mariscal Estigarribia airbase at Helis.com - includes Google Maps
• Dr Luís María Argaña International Airport