Asunción, Paraguay – Horacio Cartes, the leader of Paraguay's ruling National Republican Association (ANR) and former President of Paraguay from 2013 to 2018, has traveled to Israel at the invitation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Cartes will attend an international conference on anti-Semitism held from March 26th to 27th.
Cartes, who is currently barred from entering the United States due to allegations of significant corruption, reportedly chartered an Argentina-registered aircraft for the trip, with a refueling stop in Portugal en route to Israel. This marks his first overseas travel since a brief detention order related to money laundering allegations in Brazil in 2019, which was later retracted.
Accompanying Cartes on this visit is a delegation of prominent Paraguayan politicians, including the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Raúl Latorre, Senator Antonio Barrios, and his partner, Kiara Capdevila.
In a statement, the ANR confirmed Cartes' participation in the "international conference against anti-Semitism, which will take place on March 26th and 27th." House Speaker Latorre further added that Cartes is scheduled to attend closed-door roundtables with world leaders during the conference.
Cartes, a political patron of the current Paraguayan President Santiago Peña, had reportedly remained in Paraguay since 2019 due to concerns about his personal safety.
According to his lawyer, Pedro Ovelar, Cartes' decision to stay in Paraguay was a result of "prudence" following alleged "political and media persecution" orchestrated by the former Paraguayan government of Mario Abdo Benítez (2018-2023), a fellow ANR member but belonging to the opposing 'Colorado Añetete' faction.
Ovelar claimed that this persecution involved fabricated reports and institutional manipulation that influenced the Brazilian case and the U.S. sanctions, which even linked Cartes to groups considered terrorist organizations.
While Ovelar stated there have been no direct legal changes facilitating the trip, he noted that a shift in the "situation" and evidence disproving the terror links have reduced the perceived risks. Cartes' departure signifies a change in his circumstances despite ongoing debate surrounding his past.
House Speaker Latorre also downplayed any connection between Cartes' choice of an Argentinian-registered private plane and his "unfair" legal standing in the United States, stating that Cartes is accustomed to traveling on private aircraft.
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