The national police of Paraguay arrested the former independent presidential candidate on Friday Paraguay “Payo” Cubaswhose denunciation of an alleged “fraud” in Sunday’s general election sparked demonstrations by citizens dissatisfied with the election results.
On their Twitter account, the Police reported that Cubas’ “preventive detention” took place in the city of San Lorenzo – located about 14 kilometers from Asunción, the country’s capital -, in compliance with an official letter from the Public Prosecutor.
The NPY channel released a document in which prosecutors from the Public Prosecutor’s Specialized Economic Crimes and Anti-Corruption Unit asked the police to arrest Cubas, of the National Crusade Party (PCN), third in the presidential elections, in an alleged lawsuit “disturbing the peace and others”.
“All criminals in this country must be handcuffed like Paraguayo Cubas”says the politician on his live broadcast as he is hospitalized in a patrol car.
Then he declared, “There will be no quilombo. Vote stealers are quietly on the loose and those of us who defend the Constitution go to jail. (…) The police protocol seems fine to me and I already know what awaits me”.
“The protocol is the wife, if you are not handcuffed you will turn to the poor policemen. I am accused of subversion of public order, it is in the law,” he added.
Cuba, who he exposed the fraud after coming third in Sunday’s electionhe did not resist arrest and recorded a video of the moment he continues to denounce irregularities in his country’s politics.
Between Tuesday and this Friday, the security forces arrested more than one hundred supporters of the politician, leader of the National Crusade movement, also on charges of “disturbing the public peace”.
Cubas, a 61-year-old lawyer, had urged his supporters via social media to ignore the outcome of the election won by economist Santiago Peña of the ruling Colorado Party.
Peña obtained 42.7% of the vote, against 27.4% for his main rival, Efraín Alegre, of the centre-left Concertación Nacional coalition. Cubas achieved 22.9% of the vote.
Source: Clarin
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