Miguel Ángel de la Cruz Robles Ibarra turned himself in on the morning of Thursday, September 10, 2026, to the Judicial Department of the National Police and was detained to begin serving a 10-year prison sentence for misappropriating resources from the Governor’s Office of Paraguay’s Central Department.
The former chief of staff to former Governor Hugo Javier González arrived at the police unit shortly before 7 a.m. Officers checked his details in the Quantum system and confirmed an arrest warrant linked to the final conviction for breach of trust and other crimes.
The warrant was issued through Judicial Letter No. 608, dated August 3, 2026, by Criminal Enforcement Court No. 3 for Economic Crimes, Corruption and Organized Crime, under Judge Carlos Luis Mendoza. Robles remained at liberty after the sentence became final, while Hugo Javier turned himself in on August 4 and was taken to the Esperanza Industrial Penitentiary Unit.
The court had set a deadline for Robles to turn himself in. Otherwise, the real guarantees offered in the case, including properties located in different parts of the country, would be enforced. On Wednesday, September 9, the judge ordered the enforcement of the bonds, leaving the assets subject to a possible judicial auction. Robles turned himself in before further developments in that measure.
Robles and Hugo Javier were convicted in January 2025 in a case involving funds intended for emergency works during the pandemic. According to the grounds of the ruling, the Governor’s Office allocated G$3,063,360,000 to the Integral Professional Support Center (CIAP) for the construction and maintenance of public spaces, as well as G$2,042,240,000 for paving. The total reached G$5,105,600,000.
The ruling stated that 14 works presented as having been financed with the funds had already been built before the disbursements and that the Governor’s Office received no consideration in return. Judge Karina Cáceres, the tribunal’s president, identified Robles as responsible for devising and leading the scheme and recorded that the money ended up under his control.
The case is identified as “Hugo Javier González Alegre and others for breach of trust exceeding 5,500 minimum wages and other offenses.” Hugo Javier is also facing a second case related to an estimated loss of G$18.3 billion that was allegedly intended for the National Health Council and projects by civil associations.