MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Former Paraguayan President's ties with FARC exposed

Lugo had no clear idea of what he had to do as President, Franco underlined

Former Paraguayan President Federico Franco (2012-2013) said Fernando Lugo (2008-2012), under whom he served as Vice President and whom he succeeded after his impeachment, had links with Colombia's Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) guerrillas.

In a radio interview, Franco mentioned a meeting between Lugo and FARC leaders in Venezuela and insisted there were photographs showing Lugo together with these groups. “Being president I received reports that President Lugo visited FARC people while in Venezuela. There are photos of Paraguayans who were in the EPP who were in that group,” said the former president about the Marxist-Leninist Paraguayan People's Army, known as EPP for its Spanish abbreviation. However, Franco admitted that “the alleged link of Fernando Lugo with the EPP is not proven”.

Franco also criticized Lugo for focusing on “frivolities” and personal matters including his multiple paternities instead of running the country. He also admitted to having welcomed many of Lugo's children in his office during his vice presidency.

Franco insisted that Lugo never grasped “the transcendence of governing a country.” He also recalled a conversation with Lugo about a commercial exchange in which the latter proposed to exchange soybeans for diesel to Venezuela, which Franco considered a sign of Lugo's lack of understanding about the country's economy.

“He told me 'We are going to give them soybeans in exchange for diesel',” Franco argued. “I replied that where were we going to get the soybeans from since they belonged to the private sector, which the State does not have. That's when I realized that this gentleman had no clear idea of what he had to do,” Franco underlined.