Paraguay’s vice president, Hugo Velázquez, decided to remain in office, six days after he announced he would resign amid accusations by the United States that he was involved in “significant corruption schemes”.
“When I gave my word to resign, I assumed there was an investigation against me, but yesterday [quarta-feira, 17] I received an opinion from the Public Ministry that indicates that there is no case against me,” Velázquez said at a press conference on Thursday (18).
According to him, President Mario Abdo Benítez respected his decision. The deputy is considered a trusted man by the powerful former president Horacio Cartes and was integrated into Marito’s ticket, as he is known, in 2018 as part of an agreement between the different wings of the Colorado Party.
“Many sectors asked me to interrupt my resignation. The people deserve to know at least the reason why I resigned from the position, so that it doesn’t go down in history because I did it for corruption”, he said.
The politician was also a pre-candidate of the Cartes wing for the 2023 presidential elections — there is no re-election in Paraguay, hence the impossibility of Marito running. Upon hearing the news from Washington, Velásquez announced that he would withdraw from the race. At the time, the president said he regretted the case and saw the vice president as a friend. “But under the circumstances, maintaining the candidacy would be unacceptable.”
On the 12th, the US State Department imposed sanctions on Velázquez, preventing the politician from entering the US, “for his participation in significant acts of corruption, including the bribery of a public official and interference in public processes”, according to a statement. official.
Washington accuses former prosecutor Juan Carlos Duarte, linked to Velázquez and Cartes, of attempting to bribe an official with an offer of US$1 million (R$5.1 million) to halt an investigation.
On the 22nd, Cartes himself had been accused of corruption by the US, which also imposed sanctions on the former president, including banning him and his children Sofia, Juan Pablo and María Sol from entering the country.
The US Ambassador to Paraguay, Marc Ostfield, said the State Department’s release of a list of corrupt politicians is a way of “promoting the accountability of government officials involved in corruption cases.”
