Vice President of Paraguay, Hugo Velazquezannounced this Friday that he will resign from his position and from the candidacy for the presidency of the country, after the State Department of USA accused him of participating in “significant acts of corruption” and therefore prohibited his entry into that country.
“I, Hugo Velázquez, am going to make the decision that I think is most convenient for the country,” the official told ABC Cardinal radio, anticipating his resignation, which will take effect in the coming days.
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Velázquez and the legal adviser of the Yacyretá binational entity (EBY), Juan Carlos Duarte, were included by the US in its list of corrupt persons, Secretary of State Antony Blinken reported this Friday.
In statements to journalists from the department of Itapúa (south), the president of Paraguay, Mario Abdo Benítez, thanked his second-in-command for having decided to resign, admitting that his continuity “was already unacceptable.” In turn, he announced the dismissal of Duarte.
“We were all surprised,” said Abdo Benítez about the US announcement, which he considered “an ally country” and “strategic partner of Paraguay.”
In any case, he indicated that Velázquez “is going to put himself at the disposal of the American government.”
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“This is a gesture – he added regarding the resignation of his vice president – where he demonstrates the importance of international cooperation, of the integration processes that the world requires. We cannot turn our backs on everyone.”
Shortly before, Velázquez had anticipated that on Monday or Tuesday of next week he will formalize his resignation from the Vice Presidency.
He also confirmed that he will withdraw from the race for the presidential candidacy for the ruling Colorado Party.
Similarly, he was in favor of his wife and deputy attorney general in the Public Ministry, Lourdes Samaniego González —whom the US also prohibited from entering its territory as a result of the appointment of the vice president— leave her post.
At a press conference in Asunción, the US ambassador to Paraguay, Marc Ostfield, stated that Duarte, at the request of Velázquez, “offered a bribe of more than one million dollars” to a public official, with the alleged intent to “obstruct an investigation that threatened the Vice President and his financial interests.”
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Velázquez is going to put himself at the disposal of the American Government.
According to the White House, Duarte “abused and exploited his powerful and privileged public position within the Yacyretá Binational Entity, putting public confidence in one of Paraguay’s most vital economic assets at risk.”
Yacyretá is a hydroelectric plant built between Paraguay and Argentina on the Paraná River. Blinken estimates that these corrupt acts contribute to a loss of confidence in the government and affect “the public perception of corruption and impunity” in the vice president’s office.
However, the official said he did not have “the faintest idea” about that accusation, and denied being investigated.
In addition, he called “a big lie” the statement that he had offered a possible bribe.
Velázquez, who was a deputy and fiscal agent, said that he always considered himself an “ally of the Americans” and even recalled that he worked with different agencies in that country.
On January 22, the Paraguayan vice president had registered the Republican Force political faction for the internal elections of the Colorado Party, scheduled for December 18.
The designation against Velázquez occurs after the United States included former Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes (2008-2012) on its list of corrupt on July 22.
*With information from AFP and EFE
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