First modification:
Almost a week before the presidential elections, the Paraguayan Public Ministry issued the order to arrest the opponent who came third in the elections and publicly denounced an alleged fraud. The cover of the arrest is a disturbance of public peace and can be extended to other potential crimes, the judicial authorities advanced.
During the afternoon of this Friday, May 5, the Justice of Paraguay detained the former presidential candidate Paraguayo Cubas by an order of the prosecutors of Economic and Computer Crimes for “disturbance of public peace”, after denouncing an alleged “electoral fraud” in the elections held last Sunday that left him in third place and gave Santiago Peña, from the Colorado Party, the winner.
Through his social networks, a channel frequently used by Cubas to address his fans, he showed the moment after being handcuffed.
“As you can see, I am in custody,” he said. “All criminals in this country should be handcuffed like Paraguayan Cubas,” he added ironically.
The candidate led the mobilizations asking to challenge the count and start a new one despite the fact that international organizations supported transparency and stressed that there were no legitimate reasons to doubt the vote.
Cubas was captured by security forces in the town of San Lorenzo without putting up a fight, the police report said.
In addition, the politician was taken to the Specialized Group until the Public Ministry decides whether to stay there or if he is taken to another institution.
The fact that the arrest request was made by the Economic and Computer Crime Agency implies that the reasons for his arrest can be extended to other areas.
The head of the National Police, Gilberto Fleitas, expressed on local radio that there are around 1,800 police officers guarding the headquarters of the Superior Court of Electoral Justice, located in Asunción, which was the meeting point for Cubas supporters in the protests.
In recent days, as a result of the mobilizations repudiating the electoral results, at least 208 people have been arrested for the riots. Last Tuesday, Yolanda Paredes, Cubas’ wife, said that they did not incite protests in order “not to expose people to dangerous things happening.”
However, within the opponent’s plans was to resume the protests when he arrived in Asunción in the next few hours.
With EFE, Reuters and local media
