MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Abdo would prefer Velázquez to resign as Paraguay's VP

Cartés wants to subjugate the institutions to keep his unlawful businesses running, Abdo argued

Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benítez believes Vice President Hugo Velázquez should resign and avoid his impeachment in which his political opponents from within their own Colorado Party might seek to splash the head of state.

Abdo made those remarks Sunday in a TV interview following Velázquez's declaration of “significantly corrupt” by the United States two weeks ago. The Vice President had said he would resign but he only stepped down from his presidential race in the party primaries and later announced he would hold on to his job at least until concrete evidence of the allegations against him is produced.

”If I had been in his (Hugo Velázquez's) situation, I would have resigned. I think the right thing to do is to resign, but I respect his decision,“ Abdo pointed out. He added that in his view Velázquez made a mistake in backing down from his initial decision.

Abdo insisted he was hurt by the US designation because he is Velázquez's friend, although he admitted he did not believe that the US would make such a decision ”just like that“ and would surely have proof against Velázquez and also against former President Horacio Cartés, who was blacklisted around a fortnight earlier.

Although they both represent the Colorado Party, Abdo and Cartés are from different factions and therefore bitter political rivals. The President also insisted there are no grounds for Velázquez's impeachment since the declaration stemmed from a foreign country with no inquiry in progress in Paraguay. ”These decisions were taken by the [US] Secretary of State [Antony Blinken] and were conveyed to Paraguay through its Embassy,“ Abdo said

”I do not believe this has an effect of interference and it is a clear message to a country that receives a lot of cooperation from the US in organized crime, corruption, and the strengthening of institutions,“ he added.

Abdo also underlined that he believed Cartés would go after him if the Cartesian candidate Santiago Peña wins next year's elections. The President also stressed that ”the least they want“ is an impeachment ”to get me out of the way.“

”If they (Cartés' faction) have control of the Prosecutor's Office at any moment they can use the Prosecutor's Office to persecute anyone or negotiate impunity,“ Abdo went on and recalled that the current anti-kidnapping prosecutor, Lorenzo Lezcano, who is under suspicion for not having acted in a timely manner in the case of the Uruguayan-born alleged drug trafficker Sebastián Marset used to be Cartes' Secretary of Intelligence and Minister of the Interior.

Abdo insisted Cartés was seeking to rule the Colorado Party to subjugate the institutions for economic gain and vowed to stand up against that possibility. Cartés' ”economic group uses the Colorado Party to consolidate its power. An economic group that lives off the democratic non-functioning, because the National Police should not look at contraband.“

He added that he had no proof, but that he was ”very sure” Cartés was paying US$ 10,000 per month to more than 50 lawmakers.