Oct. 6 (UPI) — Former Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes announced on social media accounts that the United States has lifted sanctions imposed on him by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control after more than two years of investigations into alleged corruption.
A notice on the office’s website shows that Cartes and several of his companies were removed from the list of “specially designated nationals,” which had originally included him due to allegations of “rampant corruption that undermines democratic institutions”.
Cartes, who also leads the ruling Colorado Party, said he received the news “with humility and satisfaction” and declared that “justice has been done today.”
He thanked the U.S. government for “acting with objectivity and a sense of justice” and credited “the government of the United States, led by President Donald Trump, for reviewing all the relevant circumstances and the merits of my defense.”
Paraguay’s ambassador to the United States, Gustavo Leite, welcomed the decision and expressed his support for the former president.
“I am very pleased and I join the sentiments expressed in former President Cartes’ statement. Justice has been served. Now, we will work on a shared prosperity agenda between Paraguay and the United States,” Leite told UPI.
Cartes was added in January 2023 to the foreign assets control office sanctions list under the Global Magnitsky program, which allows the United States to freeze assets and block financial transactions of individuals accused of corruption or human rights abuses.
In 2022, the United States revoked the former president’s visa over alleged “significant acts of corruption.”
According to the original designation, foreign assets control office accused Cartes of engaging in “widespread corruption” that undermined Paraguay’s democratic institutions. The measure also affected several companies tied to his business group, including Tabacos USA Inc. and Frigorífico Chajhá, whose assets were frozen under U.S. jurisdiction.
The U.S. Embassy in Paraguay confirmed at the time that the decision was based on Executive Order 13818, which expands the scope of the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act.
In August 2024, the Treasury Department extended sanctions to additional affiliated firms, including Tabacalera del Este (Tabesa), according to a statement.
Cartes ended his message by saying he hopes to “contribute to strengthening the historic friendship between Paraguay and the United States.”
He said his “name has been cleared,” and he called the decision an opportunity to continue serving his country alongside those “who believe in a better future for Paraguay.”
