page_title: Paraguay
section_title: Military
hierarchical_section_title: Paraguay / Government and politics / Military
caption_attribution_description: Paraguayan marines stand in ranks after participating in a multinational beach assault during Southern Partnership Station (SPS) at Ancon Marine Base, Peru, July 19, 2010.
context_page_description: Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Although it is one of only two landlocked countries in South America, the country has coasts, beaches and ports on the Paraguay and Paraná rivers that give exit to the Atlantic Ocean through the Paraná-Paraguay Waterway. Due to its central location in South America, it is sometimes referred to as Corazón de Sudamérica.
  Spanish conquistadores arrived in 1524 after navigating northwards from the Río de la Plata to the Paraná River, and finally up the Paraguay River. In 1537, they established the city of Asunción, which was the first capital of the Governorate of Paraguay and Río de la Plata. Paraguay was the center of the Jesuit Missions, where the Guaraní people were educated and introduced to Christianity and European culture under the direction of the Society of Jesus in Jesuit reductions, mainly during the 17th century. However, after the expulsion of the Jesuits from Spanish territories in 1767, Paraguay increasingly became a peripheral colony, with few urban centers and settlers.
context_section_description: The military of Paraguay consist of the Paraguayan army, navy (including naval aviation and marine corps) and air force.
  The constitution of Paraguay (article 238) establishes the president of Paraguay as the commander-in-chief.
  Paraguay has compulsory military service, and all 18-year-old males and 17-year-olds in the year of their 18th birthday are liable for one year of active duty. Although the 1992 constitution allows for conscientious objection, no enabling legislation has yet been approved.
  In July 2005, military aid in the form of U.S. Special Forces began arriving at Paraguay's Mariscal Estigarribia air base, a sprawling complex built in 1982.
  In 2017, Paraguay signed the UN treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
caption: Paraguayan marines at Ancon Marine Base
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