U.S. designates former Paraguayan president Cartes for involvement in corruption

FILE PHOTO: Paraguay's President Horacio Cartes addresses both houses of Congress, the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, during his last address to the nation as the country's president, in Asuncion, Paraguay July 1, 2018. REUTERS/Jorge Adorno

The United States is designating former Paraguayan president Horacio Cartes for his involvement in "significant corruption," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday.

"Former President Cartes obstructed a major international investigation into transnational crime in order to protect himself and his criminal associate from potential prosecution and political damage," Blinken said in a statement.

(Reporting by Katharine Jackson; editing by Paul Grant)