Paraguay’s Vice President Should Resign Amid Corruption Allegations, President Says
Paraguayan Vice-President Hugo Velazquez waves outside the National Assembly after the inauguration of Ecuador’s new president Guillermo Lasso, in Quito, on May 24, 2021.
BUENOS AIRES (Sputnik) – Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benitez has advised Vice President Hugo Velazquez, whom the United States has accused of corruption, to step down from the post.”If I was in this situation, I would resign as vice president… It would be right to resign, but I respect his decision,” the president told the Telefuturo television channel on Sunday.US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced earlier this month that the United States was imposing visa restrictions on Velazquez, his associate Juan Carlos “Charly” Duarte Martinez, and immediate family members, for their alleged involvement in corruption, including bribery of a public official and interference in public processes.According to Blinken, Duarte allegedly offered a bribe to a Paraguayan public official in order to obstruct an investigation that threatened the Paraguayan vice president and his financial interests.
AmericasParaguay Could Launch Investigation Against Sanctioned Vice President – Prosecutor’s Office13 August, 02:35 GMTVelazquez said on August 12 that he intended to step down from the post of vice president, but later changed his mind and said he was going to wait for an official investigation.The Paraguayan prosecutor’s office said it was going to assess the need to open an investigation against Velazquez.Earlier this year, Paraguayan prosecutors launched an investigation against former President Horacio Cartes, suspected of corruption and money-laundering. Cartes was listed in the so-called Pandora Papers – leaked documents published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists within the investigation into offshore schemes of a number of world’s high-ranking leaders.
