US sanctions Paraguay VP, former president for Hezbollah links, corruption

The United States issued sanctions against Paraguay’s former President Horacio Cartes Jara and current Vice President Hugo Velázquez Moreno, unveiling explosive accusations on Thursday that they participated in widespread schemes of corruption and have ties to members of the Lebanese Shia militant group, Hezbollah.

The former president and current vice president have been involved "in systemic corruption that has undermined democratic institutions in Paraguay" and have ties to members of Hezbollah, which the United States designates as a terrorist organisation, the Treasury Department said.

As a result, "these two people are now blocked from using the United States financial system," Marc Ostfield, US ambassador in Paraguay, said in a news conference.

Cartes and Velázquez did not immediately comment on the allegations. Both been included on a US corruption list last year but now the accusations against them have been expanded. The Treasury also issued sanctions against four companies owned or controlled by Cartes.

Cartes, "one of the wealthiest individuals in Paraguay," who was president from 2013 to 2018, "has engaged in a concerted pattern of corruption, including widespread bribery of government officials and legislators," the State Department said Thursday.

The sanctions outlined Thursday quickly rocked Paraguay’s political world with opposition lawmakers demanding the launch of investigations into Cartes, Velázquez and all lawmakers who may have received bribes.

In his quest to become president, Cartes repeatedly doled out cash to officials, a pattern that continued during his presidency and after he stepped down, according to US officials.

First, after Cartes joined the Colorado Party in 2009, he bribed officials to convince them to eliminate the party’s previous requirement that someone had to be affiliated for 10 years before running as the party’s presidential nominee. He then proceeded to pay some members of the party as much as $10,000 to support his candidacy, according to Treasury.

While president, Cartes made monthly payments of anywhere from $5,000 to $50,000 to a group of "loyal legislators" in order to make sure he kept control over Congress. Those payments continued after he left office to make sure lawmakers voted in his interest, Treasury said.

Overall, the former president, who still leads the Colorado Party, has "leveraged his illicitly acquired wealth and influence to expand his political and economic power over Paraguayan institutions," the State Department said.

The accusations against Velázquez were less detailed, with Treasury only saying that the vice president "has also engaged in corrupt practices to interfere with legal processes and protect himself and criminal associates from criminal investigations," including by bribing and threatening officials to make sure his illicit activity wasn’t exposed.

The United States also claims that "representatives of both Cartes and Velázquez have collected bribes" at private events held by Hezbollah in Paraguay.