US Sanctions Paraguay VP, Former President for Links to Hezbollah

Horacio Cartes, former president of Paraguay and pre-candidate for the presidency of the National Republican Association (ANR), talks with the media after voting in his party's primary election at a poll station in Asuncion, Paraguay, December 18, 2022. REUTERS/Cesar Olmedo
Horacio Cartes, former president of Paraguay and pre-candidate for the presidency of the National Republican Association (ANR), talks with the media after voting in his party's primary election at a poll station in Asuncion, Paraguay, December 18, 2022. REUTERS/Cesar Olmedo
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US Sanctions Paraguay VP, Former President for Links to Hezbollah

Horacio Cartes, former president of Paraguay and pre-candidate for the presidency of the National Republican Association (ANR), talks with the media after voting in his party's primary election at a poll station in Asuncion, Paraguay, December 18, 2022. REUTERS/Cesar Olmedo
Horacio Cartes, former president of Paraguay and pre-candidate for the presidency of the National Republican Association (ANR), talks with the media after voting in his party's primary election at a poll station in Asuncion, Paraguay, December 18, 2022. REUTERS/Cesar Olmedo

The United States issued sanctions against Paraguay’s former President Horacio Cartes Jara and current Vice President Hugo Velázquez Moreno on Thursday, unveiling explosive accusations that they participated in widespread schemes of corruption and have ties to members of a terrorist organization.

Cartes and Velázquez have been involved “in systemic corruption that has undermined democratic institutions in Paraguay” and have ties to members of Hezbollah, which the United States designates as a terrorist organization, the Treasury Department said.

As a result, “these two people are now blocked from using the United States financial system,” Marc Ostfield, US ambassador in Paraguay, said at a news conference.

Both Cartes and Velázquez were included on a US corruption list last year, but now the accusations against them have been expanded. The Treasury also issued sanctions against four companies owned or controlled by Cartes: Tabacos USA, Bebidas USA, Dominicana Acquisition and Frigorifico Chajha.

Velázquez said he was “surprised” by the allegations against him and “categorically” rejected the claims, adding that he was unaware of the details and has asked the United States for more information.

“I absolutely don’t have ties to Hezbollah … or any other terrorist group,” the vice president told a local radio station Thursday. He added that he had no plans to resign.

“I was elected by the Paraguayan people,” he said.

Cartes, who was president in 2013-2018, “did not immediately comment, but he rejected US claims of corruption last year. “I deny and reject the content of the allegations,” Cartes wrote on Twitter in July 2022, and said he was “committed to offering all the support and primary-source information that the authorities need to clarify” anything.

The United States has long said the porous tri-border region that connects Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay is a hub for terrorism financing through money laundering of illicit activity. The US has identified what it has described as members of the Hezbollah group who use front companies in the region to finance terror activities in the Middle East.

The State Department has said that corruption in Paraguay often prevents convictions in money-laundering and terrorism financing cases.

Cartes, described by the US as “one of the wealthiest individuals in Paraguay,” has "engaged in a concerted pattern of corruption, including widespread bribery of government officials and legislators,” the State Department said Thursday.

The sanctions rocked Paraguay’s political world, with opposition lawmakers demanding the launch of investigations into Cartes, Velázquez and all lawmakers who may have received bribes.

In his quest to become president, Cartes repeatedly doled out cash to officials, a pattern that continued during his presidency and after he stepped down, according to US officials.

They say that initially, after Cartes joined the Colorado Party in 2009, he bribed officials to persuade them to eliminate the party’s requirement that someone had to be affiliated for 10 years before running as its presidential nominee. He then proceeded to pay some members of the party as much as $10,000 to support his candidacy, Treasury said.

While president, Cartes made monthly payments of anywhere from $5,000 to $50,000 to a group of “loyal legislators” in order to make sure he kept control over Congress, the US said. Those payments continued after he left office to make sure lawmakers voted in his interest, Treasury said.

Overall, the former president, who still leads the Colorado Party, has “leveraged his illicitly acquired wealth and influence to expand his political and economic power over Paraguayan institutions,” the State Department said.

The accusations against Velázquez were less detailed, with Treasury saying only that the vice president “has also engaged in corrupt practices to interfere with legal processes and protect himself and criminal associates from criminal investigations,” including by bribing and threatening officials to make sure his illicit activity wasn’t exposed.

The United States also alleges that “representatives of both Cartes and Velázquez have collected bribes” at private events held by Hezbollah in Paraguay.



Egypt Welcomes Tehran’s Renaming of ‘Islamabouli Street’ as a Turning Point in Relations with Iran

Relations between Egypt and Iran saw a notable thaw following Araghchi’s visit to Cairo (Egyptian Presidency)
Relations between Egypt and Iran saw a notable thaw following Araghchi’s visit to Cairo (Egyptian Presidency)
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Egypt Welcomes Tehran’s Renaming of ‘Islamabouli Street’ as a Turning Point in Relations with Iran

Relations between Egypt and Iran saw a notable thaw following Araghchi’s visit to Cairo (Egyptian Presidency)
Relations between Egypt and Iran saw a notable thaw following Araghchi’s visit to Cairo (Egyptian Presidency)

Egypt has welcomed Iran’s decision to rename a Tehran street once dedicated to Khalid al-Islamabouli - the Egyptian army officer who assassinated President Anwar Sadat in 1981 - describing the move as a significant step toward resetting bilateral relations.

In the first official Egyptian response to the development, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ambassador Tamim Khallaf told Asharq Al-Awsat: “Renaming the street is a positive step in Egyptian-Iranian relations. It helps put matters back on the right track.”

The street, long a source of tension between Cairo and Tehran, has now been renamed after Hassan Nasrallah, the former Secretary-General of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, following a decision by the Tehran City Council.

Iranian media reported that a formal ceremony was held to unveil the new name, attended by officials, intellectuals, and civil society figures. The change was part of a wider initiative that saw 11 streets in the capital renamed last month.

Dr. Hoda Raouf, a Cairo-based expert on Iranian affairs, said the move reflects “a meaningful shift and a clear sign of Iran’s serious intent to restore relations with Egypt.”

She noted that Egyptian-Iranian ties have two key dimensions: regional security - particularly Egypt’s opposition to Iranian interference in countries such as Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen - and the bilateral relationship, which has long been strained over symbolic gestures such as honoring Sadat’s assassin.

Political philosopher and Iran specialist Dr. Mohamed Khairy echoed that assessment, calling the street name change “a significant development.”

He emphasized that the decision was passed by majority vote and attended by influential figures from Iran’s political establishment, which he said reflects a genuine desire within Iran to repair ties with Cairo.

The gesture comes amid signs of warming relations between the two nations. Iranian top diplomat Abbas Araghchi recently visited Cairo, where he met President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and senior officials.

His visit included a symbolic walk through the historic Khan el-Khalili bazaar, prayers at the Al-Hussein Mosque, and dinner at the famed Naguib Mahfouz restaurant.

Sisi also held a phone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian during the recent Israeli escalation against Iran, in which he affirmed Egypt’s rejection of Israeli attacks on Iranian territory.