Paraguayan prosecutor opens probe of vice president accused by U.S. of corruption

FILE PHOTO: Hugo Velazquez, President of the Lower House of Congress, talks to the press before a session in Asuncion, Paraguay April 26, 2017. REUTERS/Jorge Adorno

Paraguay's Attorney General's office said on Tuesday it opened a criminal investigation into Vice President Hugo Velazquez, almost two weeks after the U.S. government accused him of having committed "significant" corruption.

The Public Ministry said on Facebook that Attorney General Sandra Quinonez ordered the opening of a criminal case to investigate "the facts in relation to the statement of the U.S. ambassador, Marc Ostfield" concerning Velazquez.