The former president of Paraguay Horacio Cartes announces the dissolution of his business group due to the sanctions against him

( Spanish) — The former president of Paraguay Horacio Cartes published a video on his social networks this Friday in which he announces the dissolution of his business group due to the sanctions recently imposed against him by the United States government.

“Many jobs may be at risk due to the sanctions that were imposed on me and, given this, I have decided not to risk the livelihood of any of their families, so I prefer to step aside,” Cartes said.

In a statement, the Cartes Group announced that the reorganization of the companies that comprise it has given, among other results, the dissolution of the partnership between the former president of Paraguay and his sister Sarah Cartes Jara and the liquidation of the companies included in the list of the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and the transfer of the shares of Horacio Cartes in favor of his legitimate heirs as an inheritance advance.

This Thursday, the Paraguayan Attorney General’s Office reported that it had launched an investigation against Cartes and the current vice president, Hugo Velásquez, sanctioned by the United States in January for participating in alleged acts of corruption.

In a statement, it added that the United States reported in July 2022 that Cartes allegedly “obstructed a major international investigation into transnational crime to protect itself” from possible prosecution and political harm.

Cartes and Velásquez have denied the US accusations.