Paraguay’s vice-president, Hugo Velázquez, announced this Friday (12) that he is stepping down from his post after the United States sanctioned him for “significant corruption” and dreams of running for president next year by the ruling Colorado Party.
“The decision to withdraw is to avoid influencing the environment of the President (Mario Abdo Benítez) or the Colorado Party,” Velázquez told 1080 AM radio.
He said, “I’m going to retire from politics. It was the last stage of my career. What are we going to do if that doesn’t happen? It’s God’s plan.”
President Mario Abdo Benítez highlighted Velázquez’s “mature stance” in “announcing his resignation, prioritizing the interests of our nation’s building and credibility”.
The US State Department sanctioned Velázquez, 54, on Friday “for his involvement in significant acts of corruption, including bribing a public official and interfering with civil cases,” Foreign Minister Antony Blinken said in a statement.
Juan Carlos Duarte, his close associate and legal adviser at the Entidad Binacional Yacyretá hydroelectric power station, and several of his relatives were also sentenced. The politician said, “I speak with the peace my behavior gives me because I did not do what I was accused of. I speak with a clear conscience.”
“There’s a gap in the situation that concerns me. It’s very variable,” he added.
So far, Velázquez has been a presidential candidate within the Colorado Party’s Republican Power movement, which backs Abdo Benitez for the primary elections scheduled for December 18 this year.
Paraguayan presidential elections will be held on April 30, 2023. The Colorado Party’s other candidate is Santiago Peña, a political student, until now, of former President Horacio Cartes (2013-2018).
The former president, a wealthy tobacco entrepreneur, was also penalized by the US for “significant corruption” a few weeks ago. According to Washington, Cartes blocked “a major international investigation into transnational crimes.”
– Corruption in Yacyreta –
The case Washington sanctioned Velázquez concerns the Yacyretá hydroelectric power station, a binational project on the Paraná River on the Paraguay-Argentina border.
Washington said Duarte “offered a bribe to a Paraguayan public official to block an investigation that threatened the vice president and his financial interests.”
According to the White House, Duarte “abused and exploited his powerful and privileged public position within the Yacyretá Binational Entity, jeopardizing the public’s trust in one of Paraguay’s most vital economic assets.”
Blinken estimates that these corrupt acts contributed to the loss of trust in government and affected “the public’s perception of corruption and impunity” in the vice president’s office.
Velázquez and his colleague were sanctioned by section 7031(c), meaning they would not be entitled to a visa to enter the United States.
Although not specified by the State Department, Paraguayan media recalled a 2016 photo this Friday of Velázquez and Duarte appearing on a yacht during a visit to Lebanon with Walid Amine Sweid, who was accused by the US of funding the Hezbollah Party. Classified as a terrorist group by Washington.
“Except on that official trip of eight lawmakers (to Lebanon), they accuse me of allegiance to Hezbollah, even though I have absolutely nothing to do with them. Since then, I seem to have a connection with Hezbollah. Never! I absolutely condemn terrorism in its forms”, argued Velázquez. .
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© Agence France-Press
source: Noticias
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