Governor of Rio Wants to Sue Paraguay at UN for Arms Trafficking
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The governor of Rio, Wilson Witzel River plans to sue Paraguay before the United Nations (UN) for trafficking arms to Brazil, one of the main vectors of violence in the state of Rio de Janeiro, he said.
Witzel said one of the solutions is to close the Paraguayan border with security forces and offered to send state police officers to help with the task. He spoke to the press on Friday, September 27th, at the Guanabara Palace, after an event directed at businessmen.
“We are going to close the border with Paraguay. Not commercially, but with police. I will cooperate, I will send police officers to the border. And I will ask other states to send police officers there. It is not possible for Brazil to continue bleeding from these weapons and nobody does anything,” says Wilson Witzel.
“I ordered the State Prosecutor General’s Office to begin studies so that we could bring charges against Paraguay before the UN and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Paraguay is a big arms dealer and there is no control over who sells them. According to data from the Federal Highway Police, Paraguay’s weapons are coming across the border freely,” Witzel told reporters.
When asked as to how he would implement this, Witzel stressed that violence in Rio de Janeiro is not the exclusive responsibility of the governor, but of everyone, particularly the federal government.
In addition to holding South American countries accountable for drug and arms trafficking, the governor of Rio also plans to sue the arms factories for selling their products to countries that do not control their eventual use.
“I have decided on a study, if needed the hiring of a law office, to prosecute the companies that sell these weapons irresponsibly to countries that do not have control over the sale of weapons. They will be sued, in international courts, with compensation to the people of Rio de Janeiro,” he says.
Key Facts
— Deep Dive
— For the complete picture, read our in-depth guide: Paraguay: Washington's Most Valued Ally in Latin America
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