Peter Tase, a former IWP student, recently gave two lectures at the National Police Academy in Paraguay about the U.S. Intelligence Community. With an audience comprised of deputy police commissioners and principal leaders within the police force, Mr. Tase spoke about the importance of intelligence and counterintelligence in law enforcement and gave an overview of the work of the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the National Security Council. Both events, which took place on September 12 and October 1, were attended by nearly 60 police leaders.
At a time when law enforcement officials are called upon to act as a front-line defense against terrorism, organized crime, and gang activities, intelligence collection and analysis grows more crucial by the day. Within law enforcement agencies, the broader purposes of intelligence can be categorized into two sectors: prevention and planning/resource allocation. Law enforcement uses intelligence to apprehend criminals and stop crimes before they happen, to determine how to best utilize department resources to develop response strategies, and to evaluate the evolving nature of threats.
Despite being comprised of dozens of directorates, armed units, technical support staff, and training institutes, Paraguay has no intelligence or counterintelligence departments within the National Police Force committed to the issue outlined above. Currently, its intelligence department focuses solely on political related analysis. With a population size comparable to the city of Hong Kong, this could leave the country in danger when looking at the broader geopolitical landscape.
Peter delivered these lectures at a time when Paraguay has embraced close ties with Iran and Qatar, as, in early October, The Emir of Qatar visited Paraguay as part of his tour in South America, including Paraguay and Argentina. Following this, Asunción closed its four-month-old embassy in Jerusalem, and, as a consequence, will close the Israeli embassy in Paraguay. Furthermore, Russian influence in South America is growing; President Mario Abdo Benítez visited Moscow right after being elected as President of Paraguay. There, President Benítez spoke of their “common past” that worked to unify both countries. Additionally, Benítez’s political campaign was financed by Lebanese entrepreneurs in Ciudad del Este with connections to Hezbollah and other terrorist groups affiliated to Iran.
These lectures were organized at the request of Deputy Police Commissioner Líder Vera Lucas Ríos, who has visited IWP on two occasions, and is an advocate of a strategic partnership between Paraguay and the United States.
Peter’s experience at IWP contributed to the information he presented in these lectures. He commented: “The lecture content and style of Prof. Dr. John Lenczowski are always a great asset for all my public speaking engagements. Furthermore, the training I received from Prof. Kenneth deGraffenreid and Prof. Marek Jan Chodakiewicz is a unique opportunity that establishes a solid foundation for our professional careers in international affairs, public service, diplomacy and harnessing the tools of statecraft.”
Participants at these lectures expressed interest in visiting IWP and strengthening ties with the Drug Enforcement Agency, FBI Office of Intelligence, and reaching out to the National Geospatial Agency for cooperation in Image Intelligence.
