US Sanctions Paraguay VP, Former President for Links to Hezbollah

Horacio Cartes, former president of Paraguay and pre-candidate for the presidency of the National Republican Association (ANR), talks with the media after voting in his party's primary election at a poll station in Asuncion, Paraguay, December 18, 2022. REUTERS/Cesar Olmedo

The United States issued sanctions against Paraguay’s former President Horacio Cartes Jara and current Vice President Hugo Velázquez Moreno on Thursday, unveiling explosive accusations that they participated in widespread schemes of corruption and have ties to members of a terrorist organization.

Cartes and Velázquez have been involved “in systemic corruption that has undermined democratic institutions in Paraguay” and have ties to members of Hezbollah, which the United States designates as a terrorist organization, the Treasury Department said.