Searching For a Secret Narcotrafficking Airstrip in Paraguay’s Wild Forests

The report outlines how drug traffickers exploit Paraguay’s Chaco region as a strategic hub, using clandestine airstrips—often with improvised lighting—to land low-altitude aircraft from Bolivia, refuel, and move cocaine onward by air or truck. Authorities destroyed multiple runways between 2017 and 2022, yet investigators suspect high flight volumes, facilitated by minimal border security and the prior lack of radar coverage. Trafficking flows primarily east toward Brazil’s border and south via Paraguay River ports, which have become significant departure points for cocaine bound for Europe.