The United States sanctioned former Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes this Friday for his “participation in significant acts of corruption”informed the Secretary of State of the North American country, Anthony Blinken.
“The United States points to former Paraguayan President Horacio Manuel Cartes Jara for his participation in significant acts of corruption. Former President Cartes obstructed a major international investigation into transnational crime to protect himself and his criminal associate from possible prosecution and political harm. These actions undermined the stability of Paraguay’s democratic institutions, by contributing to the public perception of corruption and impunity within the office of the President of Paraguay,” Blinken said in a statement.
The official added that “these actions allowed and perpetuated the recently documented involvement of Cartes with foreign terrorist organizations and other entities targeted by the United States, undermining the security of the United States against transnational crime and terrorism and threatening regional stability”.
The State Department also sanctioned Cartes’ adult children, Juan Pablo Cartes Montaña, Sofía Cartes Montaña and María Sol Cartes Montaña. The politician and his immediate relatives will not be able to enter the North American country
“These remarks reaffirm the commitment of the United States to combat corruption, which harms the public interest, hinders the economic prosperity of countries and reduces the ability of governments to respond effectively to the needs of their people. The United States stands by all Paraguayans in support of democracy and the rule of law and will continue to promote accountability for those who abuse public power for personal gain.”, concluded Blinken.
For his part, the United States ambassador to Paraguay, Marc Osfieldensured that this “It will not be our last accusation in Paraguay”. “The United States will use every tool at its disposal — investigations, extraditions, financial sanctions and visa restrictions, among others — to combat corruption and organized crime at every opportunity, around the world. We will do this without regard to the political affiliation, wealth, or personal connections of the people involved. The United States will continue to stand by the Paraguayan people and its institutions, supporting the democratic principles of transparency and the rule of law.“, he claimed.
While the White House spokesman, ned priceindicated that the United States stands against corruption and promotes “accountability of government officials who engage in corruption”. “We reaffirm the commitment of the United States to combat corruption, which undermines the faith of the Paraguayan people in their democratic institutions,” she said.
Arrest warrant in Brazil
Cartes, who served as president of Paraguay between August 2013 and August 2018, is owner of a conglomerate of about 25 companiesincluding one of the three media conglomerates in Paraguay.
The former president has been questioned by alleged irregularities in his multi-million dollar estate and has been investigated in Brazil for his links with the leader of a money laundering network.
Federal judge Marcelo Bretas, in charge of the investigations in Rio de Janeiro into the millionaire diversions that occurred in the state oil company Petrobras and uncovered a vast corruption scheme of international dimension, requested the international capture of cartes in November 2019.
The Prosecutor’s Office suspected that the former president helped Darius Messerconsidered the “biggest money changer in Brazil” and arrested in Sao Paulo in July 2019, to flee Paraguay.
According to the investigations, Messer led a sophisticated transnational money laundering network that moved millions of dollars in recent decades and was an essential figure in the practice of crimes such as corruption, tax evasion and currency evasion.
Emtrasur’s plane
The Cartes business group owns, among others, Tabacalera del Este (Tabesa), which Last May, he sent a load of cigarettes to Aruba on a Venezuelan-Iranian plane investigated in Argentina for alleged international terrorism.
Tabesa ruled out any link with the Venezuelan-Iranian plane last June, indicating that the final buyer was in charge of hiring a broker and obtaining the aircraft.
The Vice President of Paraguay, Hugo Velazquezspoke of case of the Venezuelan-Iranian plane passing through Paraguay last May, 20 days before being detained in Buenos Aires. In dialogue with Infobaeaccused the former president Horace Cartes of doing business with suspected terrorists.
“There are several hypotheses (about the arrival of the plane) and that is already in the hands of the security and investigation agencies that must discover what really happened. What is certain and concrete is that this plane, with a crew of alleged terrorists, entered Paraguay to carry Tabesa cigarettes, owned by Horacio Cartes.”, he stated.
In an interview with Infobae on June 29, Velázquez also said that the Money Laundering Commission of the Paraguayan Congress should summon Cartes: “Here should be called those directly involved who did business with these alleged terrorists, starting with Horacio Cartes. They must give explanations regarding what happened with the Iranian plane.”
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Source-www.infobae.com