The Vice President of Paraguay, Hugo Velázquez, announced this Friday that resignation from office and also to his aspirations to be a candidate next year for the presidency by the ruling Colorado Party, after the United States sanctioned him for "significant corruption".
"The decision to step aside is to avoid affecting the environment of the President of the Republic (Mario Abdo Benítez) or the Colorado Party"Velázquez declared to 1080 AM radio.
"I am retiring from politics. It was the last stage of my career. If it couldn’t happen, what are we going to do? They are God’s designs"he stated.
The United States Department of State sanctioned this Friday Velázquez, 54, "for their involvement in significant acts of corruption, including bribery of a public official and interference in public processes"Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
His close collaborator and legal advisor to the Entidad Binacional Yacyretá hydroelectric plant, Juan Carlos Duarte, and several of his relatives were also sanctioned.
"I speak with the tranquility that my behavior gives me, because I did not do what they are accusing me. I’m speaking with a clear conscience"maintained the politician.
"In the case involving me there is a loophole. is very volatile"he added.
Until now, Velázquez was the candidate for the presidency within the Republican Force movement of the Colorado Party, which supports Abdo Benítez, for the primaries scheduled for December 18 of this year.
The elections for the presidency of Paraguay will be held on April 30, 2023.
The other candidate within the Colorado Party is, until now, Santiago Peña, political dolphin of former President Horacio Cartes (2013-2018).
the former president, a wealthy tobacco businessman, was also sanctioned by the United States a few weeks ago "significant corruption". According to Washington, Cartes obstructed "a major international investigation into transnational crime".
Corruption in Yacyreta
The case for which Washington sanctions Velázquez is related to the Yacyretá hydroelectric plant, a binational work on the Paraná River on the border of Paraguay and Argentina.
Duarte "offered a bribe to a Paraguayan public official to obstruct an investigation that threatened the vice president and his financial interests"Blinken said in a statement.
With that action, Duarte "abused and exploited his powerful and privileged public position within the Yacyretá Binational Entity, putting public trust at risk in one of the most vital economic assets of Paraguay"he added.
Blinken estimated that these corrupt acts also affect "public perception of corruption and impunity" in the vice president’s office.
The designation by the United States of Velázquez and his collaborator, as well as their relatives, occurs under section 7031(c), and implies that they will not be eligible for a visa to enter the United States.
