Paraguay Special Forces Train in San Juan

Violence along the border getting international attention

POSTED: 11:16 PM CDT Mar 11, 2015

SAN JUAN -Violence along the Texas-Mexico border is getting international attention.

South American special forces are in the Rio Grande Valley to train with local police. They are learning how law enforcement here deal with the violence.

Violence also is a serious problem on the Paraguayan borders with Brazil and Argentina.

Paraguay national police decided to send their special forces team to a place familiar with violence from another country.

"We're preparing for those scenarios and what we're doing is learning how to use these tactics correctly for the protection of my fellow officers and the protection of our citizens," said Juan Maldonado, member of the Paraguay special forces.

Maldonado made the trip to Texas with eight of his fellow officers. He said our border is very similar to the one back home.

"In Paraguay, we're having problems with narco-traffickers and kidnapping of people and bank robberies," he said.

Maldonado believes the Rio Grande Valley can serve as an example on how to handle the violence for his team.

"The state of Texas is really close to the border. Organized criminals have made their way into the United States. We did our research, and we found out that San Juan, because of their experience, resulted to be our best choice in all of the state of Texas," Maldonado said.

"About six months ago, we were contacted by one of their liaisons and they were looking for a team or a group of officers that were willing to train them on the concepts that are happening here in the United States," San Juan Police Chief Juan Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez said the international training is not costing the city a single dime. The team from Paraguay paid for their travel here.

They also are paying for their own food and hotel rooms.

"To come and train with us and to get trained by us is a great example of the type of relationship we are trying to build with other countries," Gonzalez said.

Paraguay is home to nearly 7 million people.

Two weeks of training for the special forces could have a lasting impact in that country for years to come.

"I came with an empty suitcase, but I'm going back with a bag full of knowledge. I'm going to share that with my SWAT teammates who work throughout the nation. That knowledge, we're going to share it with all Paraguay SWAT teams," Maldonado said.

The team from Paraguay says they're ready to protect their border, with the tactics they learned in the Valley.

Gonzalez said this is the first time his department has hosted a group from another country.

http://www.krgv.com/news/local-news/...-Juan/31744984