The US Embassy to Paraguay denied an allegation that Washington will set up a military base in the South American country, reports from the Paraguayan capital of Asuncion said Friday.

Kevin Johnson, an adviser for the embassy, said the US troops' presence in Paraguay is in line with a program of military maneuvers carried out by both countries since 1948.

"My government does not want to establish a military base" in Paraguay, he said.

The official said his country is concerned about what he described as "illegal activities" taking place in the Triple Border Zone between Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil.

"We know that there are illegal activities and that terrorist groups are financed there," Johnson said.

He said that one year ago, on occasion of the kidnapping and killing of Cecilia Cubas, daughter of former Paraguayan President Raul Cubas, President Nicanor Duarte Frutos asked for the cooperation of his US counterpart George W. Bush.

Investigation results showed that the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, Colombia's largest rebel group, was operating in Paraguay, said Johnson.

Johnson added that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation will in 2007 open an office in Asuncion, similar to those it has since the 1990s in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and other South American capitals.

The official said "there is a good intelligence work" between his country and Paraguay, as shown in the recent capture and extradition to the United States of Brazilian Carlos Ivan Mendes Mezquita, who was accused of drug-trafficking.

Source: Xinhua