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Paraguay's vice president withdraws from the presidential race after the US declared him non grata for corruption

2022-08-12 20:45:01Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Paraguay's vice president withdraws from the presidential race after the US
Paraguayan Vice President Hugo Velazquez

Paraguayan Vice President Hugo Velazquez on Friday said he would resign and withdraw from the presidential race after the United States designated him a person of significant corruption.

Mr. Velazquez denied the charge but said that, to "protect" his party, he would tender his resignation next week.

"I speak calmly because I have not done what I am accused of," he told local radio station Monumental. "I am speaking with a clear conscience."

The US State Department charged Mr Velazquez earlier on Friday with engaging in significant acts of corruption.

A statement by Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Mr Velazquez's associate Juan Carlos Duarte had offered bribes to a Paraguayan public official to "obstruct an investigation that threatened the vice president and his financial interests".

The bribe offered was more than $1 million, US Ambassador to Paraguay Marc Ostfield said in a statement.

Juan Carlos Duarte said he had resigned and would cooperate with authorities, but did not comment directly on the allegations.

"I am surprised. I will make myself available for the relevant information they require," he told the Reuters agency, adding that he had resigned because "I have a public position and I have to respect the institutions."

Close family members of Messrs. Velazquez and Duarte were also on Secretary Blinken's list.

The State Department in July charged former Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes with "gross corruption" and obstructing a cross-border criminal investigation.

He dismissed the allegations at the time as "baseless and unfair."


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