More on Bush land buy in Paraguay

Pres. Bush buys 100,000acre ranch in Paraguay

by Prensa Latina

Thursday Oct 19th, 2006 7:57 PM

Asuncion, Oct 18 (Prensa Latina) The land grab project of US President George W. Bush in Chaco, Paraguay, has generated considerable discomfort both politically and environmentally.
The news circulating the continent about plans to buy 98,840 acres of land in Chaco, Paraguay, near the Triple Frontier (Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay) is the talk of the town in these countries.

Although official sources have not confirmed the information that is already public, the land is reportedly located in Paso de Patria, near Bolivian gas reserves and the Guarani indigenous water region, within the Triple Border.

Alto Paraguay Gov. Erasmo Rodriguez Acosta revealed he heard that part of the land purchase consists of an ecological reserve (Fundacion Patria), with which Bush is affiliated.

In its interview with Rodriguez Acosta, neike.com.py reported that he does not have documentation of this affiliation and it could not communicate either with the foundation or with the National Rural Development and Land Institute, in charge of these state lands.

Concern increased last week with the arrival of Bush" daughter, Jenna, and a source from the Physical Planning Department saying that most of the Chaco region belongs to private companies.

The land which is located somewhere near Mariscal Estigarribia is near natural gas reserves, but of more importance, It's near the one of the largest aquafers in N. America.

There is no documented proof available to prove the ownership of the land, and the claims about the military base being used by the US is mostly word of mouth from the Paraguayens.

According to US government:

Airport Unsuitable for Most U.S. Military Aircraft

The June 13, 2005, Clarin article claimed that American “B-52 airplanes” could be used at Mariscal Estigarribia. In reality, the runways are too narrow for them. B-52s typically need a runway width of 150 feet (46 meters) to land and re-engined models will require a runway width of 175 feet (53 meters), according to a June 2004 report (page 28) of the U.S. Defense Science Board Task Force on B-52 Re-Engining. However, the runways at Mariscal Estigarribia are only 131 feet (40 meters) wide.


Both the Us and Paraguay governments claim that neither daddy Bush or W own any land there. But they also claim that the air base in Mariscal Estigarribia is not functional for landing B-52 Aircraft. One of the claims is that the airstrip is only 40 meters wide...not quite enough for a B-52.
True, but only for the small side strip where a plane can park. I scaled the image of the main strip and it looks more like 60 to 80 meters wide. See picture.