US troops in Paraguay
Paraguay's neighbours are unlikely to take this latest explanation at face value, given the variety of rumours circulating about Washington's possible ulterior motives in the region.Charlotte Eimer/BBCNews 28.09.05
One popular theory is that the deal is an attempt to break up Mercosur, by offering Paraguay its own bilateral free trade agreement in exchange for a US military base.
Others range from US monitoring of Bolivia's natural gas fields to financial interests in the vast freshwater reserves of the Guarani Aquifer.
Some analysts believe a military base could even provide a bridgehead to the wealth of natural resources in Brazil's Amazon Region. US suspicions that the Tri-Border Area of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil is being used as a terrorist training ground have also been mentioned, although claims al-Qaeda is active in the region remain unsubstantiated.
