Former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo was sentenced Monday to over 20 years in jail for his involvement in the Odebrecht corruption scandal in which he was found to have received US$ 35 million in bribes for the construction by the Brazilian company of a road linking the two countries. The 78-year-old Toledo was deemed guilty of money laundering as well and disenfranchised for three years.
US Ambassador to Asunción Marc Ostfield Thursday urged the Paraguayan Police, the Attorney General's Office, and the Judiciary to be strong against the influence of coercive sectional interests. During his speech before President Santiago Peña at the Police Academy graduation ceremony, he also reiterated his country's support in the fight against corruption, organized crime, and impunity.
US Global Anti-Corruption Coordinator Richard Nephew told Paraguayan President Santiago Peña in Asunción on Monday that Washington would “continue to use a full range of tools to advance US priorities in anti-corruption activities, including strengthening capabilities in criminal justice and oversight of accountability institutions.”
Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF) Justice António Dias Toffoli has launched a corruption probe against the Non-Government Organization (NGO) Transparency International after it sided with Deltan Dallagnol to create a foundation with the money from fines paid by companies that admitted to bribes to win contracts with the state-run oil company Petrobras.
A court in the Salvadoran city of San Francisco Gotera has issued a warrant for the arrest of former president Alfredo Cristiani (1989-1994) and some former lawmakers for their alleged involvement in the 1981 El Mozote massacre in which around 1,000 peasants were killed during the civil war (1980-1992).
Six people have been arrested in Ecuador late on Thursday in connection with the killing of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio following a political rally a day earlier.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro Urrgo insisted Thursday that he intends to remain in office until 2026 because he was elected by the people for such a commitment. The head of state made these remarks after his son Nicolás Petro Burgos admitted that his father's 2022 campaign had been financed with contributions from a questionable origin.
A majority of Supreme Federal Court (STF) justices voted Thursday for the conviction of former senator and former president Fernando Collor for passive corruption and money laundering in a case of Operation Lava Jato, Agencia Brasil reported. So far, the score is 6 to 1 for conviction. After voting Thursday, the session was adjourned and will resume on May 24.
Uruguay is experiencing a crisis in the government cabinet formed by a coalition of conservative parties. President Luis Lacalle Pou requested the resignation of Housing Minister Irene Moreira after a controversial direct awarding of a house to a militant of her party, Cabildo Abierto, without a lottery, as reported by Montevideo media on Friday.
The extradition of former Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes and other politicians in the South American country who have been declared as “significantly corrupt” may come after the April 30 elections, according to an article carried in the latest issue of Americas Quarterly magazine.