Weekly Report - 02 November 2023 (WR-23-44)

Paraguay’s former president Horacio Cartes (2012-2018) is doubling down on claims that mounting corruption allegations against him are part of a campaign of “political persecution” orchestrated by the previous government of Mario Abdo Benítez (2018-2023). The allegations concerning Cartes, who is the current leader of the ruling Asociación Nacional Republicana-Partido Colorado (ANR-PC), are piling pressure on his protégé, President Santiago Peña, straining his administration’s relationship with the US and raising scrutiny on his professed commitment to combating corruption and impunity.