Paraguay’s Chamber of Deputies approved on Tuesday a request for information from the Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies (Mitic) and the Presidency to investigate suspected use of public funds in a defamation campaign against journalists and media outlets not aligned with the government.
The request, filed by independent Deputy Raúl Benítez, seeks clarification on institutional ties and possible state funding of digital activities operated by third parties. The main focus is Juan Roberto Villaverde Emategui, identified as responsible for a network of pro-government websites, and his company Comunik.
The document asks Mitic and the Presidency to inform whether Villaverde holds or held official credentials to access Executive branch facilities, including the presidential residence Mburuvicha Róga. It also requests details on any contracts, consultancies, or honorary ties maintained by him or Comunik with the Presidency or Mitic since 2023, including funds from Itaipú or Yacyretá.
Benítez said the core issue is whether the defamation campaign was funded with public money. The request questions whether state resources, advertising funds, or social responsibility funds from the binational entities were used to boost pages on social networks such as Meta, X, and YouTube. The websites identified in the request are Sucia Política, Central Noticias, Despierta Paraguay, PyElige, Centrados, and En La Tecla.
The deputy also wants to know whether Mitic and the Presidency conducted internal audits or initiated proceedings in the Directorate of Transparency and Anti-Corruption regarding the use of these funds. Finally, the request demands a report on the reason for the mass deactivation of the mentioned websites, which occurred in the first half of May 2026.