New incident between Argentine forces and illegal Paraguayan fishermen – MercoPress

New incident between Argentine forces and illegal Paraguayan fishermen

The Argentine Foreign Ministry has repeatedly ignored the conflict, said Valdés

The governor of Argentina’s Corrientes province, Gustavo Valdés, insisted that the Foreign Ministry and Senate intervene after another clash was reported between unauthorized Paraguayan fishermen and the Coast Guard (Prefectura Naval Argentina – PNA). “I hope that they are careful and do not continue to deny the conflict as they have done,” stressed Valdés.

He posted a video on X showing a boat amid screaming and gunfire. “New incident in border waters in the area of ​​Apipé Island,” denounced the governor. “All my support and that of the people of Corrientes goes to the surveillance and control work of the @PrefecturaNaval on the Argentine coasts in this border area,” he added.

“The fact that the Paraguayan Navy requires documentation of navigability from boats, barges, launches and canoes that operate in the Paraná is very serious: it represents a risk and aggression both for Argentine sovereignty and for #Corrientes,” emphasized he.

According to Valdés, the Argentine Foreign Ministry is overcautious and “turns a deaf ear and looks the other way” regarding the binational Yacyretá dam and Apipé island. There have already been four similar incidents in less than two years, but the last two have been particularly serious.

A PNA officer was injured after a shootout and combat maneuvers with machetes and other weapons during the operation to arrest the intruders.

The PNA stationed units on Marco Island, one of the Argentine islands in the Apipé Grande sector. There they discovered two Paraguayan nationals camping illegally and carrying fishing and hunting equipment. But before they could proceed, the Argentine troops were surrounded by Paraguayan canoeists.

The Argentine force called for reinforcements from the Corrientes police, but the Paraguayan navy first arrived by water and then left the area amid a skirmish in the middle of the Paraná River. The clash ended with an Argentine officer wounded and two Paraguayans arrested and handed over to the local federal court.

“The situation is serious. Now there are two fishermen and a camp. But if the situation continues like this, there will be a bigger camp tomorrow. Now a tent, tomorrow a hut, then a house and in the end we lose the island because the waters are already Paraguayan,” said Ituzaingó mayor Juan Pablo Valdés, who is also the governor’s brother.

At 7:30 a.m., a river patrol from the Prefecture of Ituzaingó visualizes ships located on the coast at the level of KM 1,447 of the Paraná River (progressive), in the area called Isla Marco. We begin with the seizure of a Paraguayan boat with a motor and prohibited fishing gear, involving two citizens,” the PNA said in a statement. The document also noted that at no time did the Paraguayan armed forces attempt to assist their Argentine counterparts in the fight against the perpetrators.

According to the Ituzaingó City Council, which is responsible for the Apipé Islands, the conflict is not new. Locals believe that cattle theft is behind the illegal fishing.

The increasing disputes come with Paraguay’s decision to close several consulates and five embassies (in Canada, Portugal, Egypt, Australia and Switzerland). In Argentina, the measure reached the consulates in Corrientes, Mendoza, Córdoba and Neuquén.