VZCZCXYZ0010
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAC #0538/01 1791704
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 281704Z JUN 07 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY ASUNCION
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5899
INFO RUCNMER/MERCOSUR COLLECTIVE
RUMIAAA/USCINCSO MIAMI FL//SCJ3/SCJ33/SCJ34/SOCSO LNO//
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC

UNCLAS ASUNCION 000538 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/BSC, INL/LP (JIM HIDES) 
EB/IFD/OIA 
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR LAC/AA 
STATE PASS TO USTR FOR LYANG 
NSC FOR SUE CRONIN 
TREASURY FOR OSIA MAUREEN WAFER 
TREASURY FOR OTA WARFIELD, VAN KOCH, MILLAR 
COMMERCE FOR ITA SARAH COOK 
SOUTHCOM FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL PA
SUBJECT: PARAGUAY POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC UPDATE JUNE 16-22, 
2007 
 
¶1. SUMMARY 
 
-- Striking Uranium 
-- Child's Name: Unknown 
-- Cargill Investment Worth Beans 
-- INL Funds Fight for IPR 
-- Drug Addiction Doubles 
 
STRIKING URANIUM 
 
¶2. (U) Alexander Hirtz of Transandes Paraguay SA announced 
that the Canadian company has confirmed the existence of 
uranium in the Yuty area of the Caazapa Department.  Hirtz 
(the firm,s primary investor) explained that the next step 
is to determine the quantity of uranium located at the Yuty 
find.  The company currently has USD six million invested 
towards uranium mining in Yuty.  Paraguay has a similar 
geological make up as South Africa (where a large uranium 
deposit exists), thus the potential for a substantial find of 
enriched uranium in Paraguay does exist and could be of 
considerable importance and financial gain for Transandes 
Paraguay SA and any others involved in the project. (NOTE: 
Press reports indicate that demand for uranium in the region 
is expected to grow as Argentina has almost completed 
construction on a second nuclear power plant and Brazil also 
has plans for the construction of a nuclear power plant. END 
NOTE.) 
 
CHILD'S NAME: UNKNOWN 
 
¶3. (U) According to GOP data over 77 percent of children in 
Caaguaz are not documented in the Civil Registry.  The 
Department of Caaguaz held an event this week to create 
awareness about the large number of unregistered children in 
the region.  Various government ministries (Youth and 
Adolescence Secretariat, Ministry of Justice and Work, 
Ministry of Public Health and Social Justice, the Ministry of 
Education and Culture, and the Interior Ministry,s 
Identification Department of the National Police) in 
conjunction with the NGO Plan Internacional - Paraguay, 
formed an inter-institutional roundtable in 2005 to modify 
law and policy to facilitate registration.  They also began a 
national registration campaign.  (NOTE: since then 26,000 
children and adolescents have bee registered; however, 
factors such as distance from a Civil Registry and parental 
indifference continue to be a major source of the problem. 
END NOTE.)  GLOBAL Infancy, Plan Internacional and the Youth 
and Adolescence Secretariat presented a proposal at the event 
to initiate further efforts for the remainder of the year. 
 
CARGILL INVESTMENT WORTH BEANS 
 
¶4. (U) United States based agricultural company Cargill broke 
ground on June 19 to begin construction of a river port and 
soybean crushing facility near Asuncion.  According to 
Cargill, the total investment could reach USD 180 million. 
The initial USD 17 million investment will increase the 
port's capacity as a grain terminal.  Once completed, the new 
terminal is expected to create 3,000 jobs. Cheaper and more 
reliable barge transportation from Asuncion to Argentina on 
the Paraguay River justifies the new facility even though 
most of the soybeans are grown near other Cargill facilities 
near Ciudad de Este on the less easily navigable Parana River 
in eastern Paraguay near Brazil.  Cargill exported more that 
USD 300 million worth of agricultural products from Paraguay 
in 2006. 
 
INL FUNDS FIGHT FOR IPR 
 
 ¶5. (U) In a joint ceremony with Paraguay,s Attorney General 
Ruben Candia Amarilla, Ambassador Cason donated USD 130,000 
worth of INL-funded equipment and vehicles to the Public 
Ministry for the benefit of Paraguay,s specialized IPR 
prosecutors on June 20.  Computers, scanners, cameras and 
other office equipment along with five 4x4 trucks will be 
assigned to the Attorney General,s IPR units in Asuncion and 
 
 
Ciudad del Este.  Press coverage of the ceremony emphasized 
the Ambassador,s remarks about the importance of protecting 
intellectual property rights. 
 
DRUG ADDICTION DOUBLES 
 
 ¶6. (U) A new study by the Paraguayan Drug Observatory 
released January 19 shows that habitual consumption of 
marijuana among adolescents has almost doubled between 2001 
and 2005.  The survey-based study showed an increase from 1.3 
percent in 2001 to 2.2 in 2005.  The study determined that 
school children will come into contact with up to 13 
different illegal substances (including cocaine, ecstasy, 
amphetamines, and methamphetamines) by the time they reach 
middle school.  The study also found that 64 percent of 
minors consume alcohol.  40 percent of that group consume on 
a regular basis, of which 25 percent are under the age of 
fourteen.  Social programs that provide treatment do exist 
(such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous), and 
the Drug Observatory has begun prevention programs in 
schools.  SENAD formed a Micro-trafficking Department to 
combat smaller scale drug operations that focus on 
adolescents.  However, the increased numbers of drug users 
demonstrates the necessity for further improvement. 
CASON