Diary From a Dangerous Place

It’s considered one of the most dangerous places in the Western Hemisphere — a small jungle town bordering three countries, Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil — and home to a myriad of unsavory characters:  drug runners, arms smugglers and pirates.

By Trish Regan The view flying into Sao Paulo.

Just getting here is a feat unto itself. (New York to Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo to Asuncion...then later Asuncion to Ciudad del Este.) I met my team in the Paraguayan capital of Asuncion.  After traveling for a day and a half, I arrive at the Asuncion airport.  It's an interesting, rather diverse cast of characters getting off the plane — a handful of missionaries from Canada, some Germans now living in Paraguay, a surprisingly large group of Taiwanese nationals now living in the region, as well as a dozen or so people from the Middle East. And of course, some Paraguayans.  

I've traveled through dicey parts of the world before, including this part of South America, and not a whole lot makes me nervous.  Still, I had read about the recent surge in "express kidnappings" and as a foreigner, traveling alone and carrying as much cash as legally possible

(our local team and guides prefer to be paid in American dollars) I'm avoiding a taxi in favor of a vetted driver.  I collect my bags and clear customs but can't spot the driver anywhere.  My cell phone doesn’t work (and you can forget about the Blackberry) so, I begin wandering around the airport pick-up area.  After about 30 minutes (and the beginnings of some nervousness on my part) a young man walks toward me with a sign saying “Trish Regan,” introduces himself as Santiago and explains that David, the producer, is waiting at the hotel.  Off we go.

Santiago gives me a quick drive-by tour of Asuncion. We speed past the Presidential Palace, a magnificent colonial style white mansion.  We pass the Congress building, another large colonial structure with grand arches.  Santiago points to the colonial architecture in the old part of town, explaining that Asuncion was the first city in South America settled by the Spanish empire. "Buenos Aires," he tells me referring to the Argentine capital, "was an after thought." 

MONEY LAUNDERING JOINT?
Pretty soon we make it to the hotel — the newest one in town and a spot Paraguayans are proud of, albeit an American franchise. Interestingly, when my company's travel department called for reservations, the hotel was booked.  Seemingly always booked.  Our contacts on the ground had planned ahead however, and made reservations for us in-person for about half the rack rate.  But, here's the catch:  we are the only people staying in the hotel.  The American investigator we're with later explains that's because the hotel is a big-time money laundering operation.  So, now you know why it's always "booked".

CNBC Mark McCabe and Trish Regan walking through the neighborhood. He took me there to show just how poor most of the country is and to demonstrate the effects of a corrupt political system. He says tax revenue lost through counterfeitting, smugggling and piracy contributes to the poverty.

I meet up with my team at the hotel:  David Lewis, the producer who flew in from Atlanta several days ahead of me; Mario deCarvalho, a cameraman I had worked with previously and one of the best in the business. Mario, who came via South Carolina, has spent twenty plus years covering news and seen his share of hell-holes and war zones.  He is an artist and great journalist who just happens to speak eight or nine languages (I've lost track, but one of them is Arabic which comes in handy on this story.) 

Eduardo Lerina, a soundman from Rio de Janeiro, is also with us. Plus, we’ve got Mark McCabe, the American investigator out of Rochester, N.Y., who has been traveling to the Tri-Border to fight counterfeiters in Ciudad del Este for more than a decade.  He’s here with his associates Stacey (a former U.S. government employee) and Elida.  We're a bit of a motley crew.  No sooner did we meet than we had, well, some surveillance, trailing us. Yes, surveillance.