LatinNews Daily - 19 August 2024

Paraguay: On 8 August Paraguay’s Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez ordered the departure of the US ambassador to Paraguay, Marc Ostfield, after a meeting in which they discussed the recent US sanctions on Paraguayan tobacco company Tabacalera del Este S.A (Tabesa). In a press release issued after the meeting, Ramírez announced his request to accelerate the departure process regarding the US ambassador, alluding to the “intervention of other states in Paraguay’s internal affairs”. The statement cites Ramírez as expressing his dislike over the “mediatisation and politicisation” of the sanctions and the “way in which these measures were communicated”, referring to the declaration on 6 August in which Ostfield justified US sanctions on Tabesa and condemned the company for providing financial support to the blacklisted former president of Paraguay, Horacio Cartes (2013-2018). The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets (Ofac) sanctioned Cartes on 26 January 2023 for his involvement in corruption, and whilst Cartes no longer owns Tabesa, on 6 August it was blacklisted for providing Cartes with financial support. The press release by Ramírez reaffirms the “shared principles and values” of the US and Paraguay in combating corruption and defends the decision to order the removal of Ostfield, explaining that it would avoid the “loss of confidence” in one person harming the “excellent” relationship that the US and Paraguay maintain.

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