Javier Giménez, chief of staff to Paraguay’s president, said he sees no conflict of interest in relation to Juan Pablo Nogués Peña’s role on the National Council of Science and Technology (Conacyt). Nogués is President Santiago Peña’s cousin and an Atome project manager. Giménez also ruled out a conflict if the company takes a dispute with the state to international forums.
Nogués represents the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MIC) on Conacyt. Giménez defended his appointment on the basis of his academic credentials—an engineering degree, a master’s from Stanford and a doctorate from Princeton—and said the council position is honorary and limited to reviewing and discussing scientific and technological projects. He said Conacyt does not decide electricity rates or agreements with the state.
The explanation did not address the sequence of presidential appointments reported in the case: Nogués was appointed in 2023 and again in November 2025. Giménez did not clarify the two appointments. The second reportedly came 15 days after Atome asked ANDE, Paraguay’s state electricity utility, for a rate of US$30 per megawatt-hour (MWh).
Atome requested a rate of US$30/MWh, which was later set for green hydrogen under Decree 5,307. The decree is also part of a dispute over decrees 5,306 and 5,307, signed by Santiago Peña in January 2026 and revoked in June after pressure. A technical report prepared by the MIC in December 2025 served as the basis for the decrees.
Atome submitted a notice of dispute on September 17. Its legal adviser, Jorge Gross Brown, said the company could turn to the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) under the bilateral investment treaty between Paraguay and the United Kingdom, without needing a contract signed under the revoked decree. The three-month negotiation period was due to expire in mid-December.
The ANDE Workers’ Union (Sitrande) is calling for Nogués and Minister Marco Riquelme to resign and is considering filing complaints with the Comptroller General’s Office and Parliament. Its secretary-general, Adolfo Villalba, says Atome is seeking reduced, fixed rates for 15 years, with no adjustments. Lawyer Jorge Rolón Luna questions whether the public function is compatible with an executive position at the company; he says Conacyt council members hold a position equivalent to that of a vice-minister and points to possible legal violations. These are claims by the union and the lawyer, not a judicial finding.
Nogués reportedly said he had left Conacyt “since May,” but he still appeared on the council’s list as a full member for the 2025–2027 term. The MIC did not provide the date of his departure.