President Santiago Peña begins a 10-day international mission this Saturday, September 19, with stops in Venezuela and the United States. Paraguayan authorities said the agenda is expected to continue through September 29 and combine an attempt to reestablish diplomatic ties with Caracas, engagements at the United Nations General Assembly and meetings to attract investment and financing to Paraguay.
The first scheduled stop is Venezuela, where Peña is expected to meet Delcy Rodríguez, whom the Paraguayan government describes as interim president. The meeting was promoted by a group of presidents from the hemisphere and is expected to address Venezuela’s institutional process, stronger cooperation against transnational organized crime and economic issues.
Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano said at a conference at the Government Palace that the meeting would serve to begin a dialogue on the possible restoration of diplomatic or consular relations, but would not lead to the immediate reopening of embassies. Venezuela broke relations with Paraguay in January 2025 after Peña recognized Edmundo González Urrutia as the winner of Venezuela’s presidential election. The Paraguayan government later also withdrew, for security reasons, the visa exemption for Venezuelans, requiring prior verification of documents and background records.
Also on the agenda is the approximately $300 million debt owed by the Paraguayan state company Petróleos Paraguayos (Petropar) to Venezuela’s Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). Ramírez Lezcano said there is a technical discrepancy over the amount claimed and that the matter remains before the International Trade Committee in Paris. The government has not ruled out resuming fuel purchases from Venezuela, although no decision has been made.
After Venezuela, Peña is expected to travel to New York. According to the agenda released by the foreign minister and Rodrigo Maluff, the minister-adviser to the Civil Cabinet, the president is expected to speak at the U.N. General Assembly and take part in bilateral meetings with heads of state, the Urupabol summit, the Peace Council, the “Shield of the Americas” forum coordinated by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and a reception hosted by the United States government for leaders attending the U.N. session.
The economic focus will be Paraguay Day, also called the Paraguay Invest Forum, with events organized by Bank of America and J.P. Morgan. The business delegation is expected to include between more than 50 and about 60 representatives, according respectively to figures presented by Industry and Commerce Minister Marco Riquelme and Maluff. The projects cover energy, forestry, infrastructure, food, logistics, artificial intelligence and data centers.
The initiative is part of the Paraguay 2X program, which aims to double the size of the economy by 2035. Peña is also expected to meet with banks, credit-rating agencies, investors and holders of sovereign bonds, as well as seek international financing for housing programs.
In an interview with ABC TV, Riquelme acknowledged that industrial expansion faces an electricity bottleneck. The minister said the problem is not the total amount of energy but the power available during peak hours, especially heat waves. Industrial proposals on hold would total more than 7,000 megawatts, equivalent to Paraguay’s share of Itaipu. He advocated modernizing ANDE, Paraguay’s state electricity utility, and expanding private participation in nonrenewable generation, in addition to offering long-term contracts and tariffs in hard currency.
During the same period, Peña appointed Isaías Ricardo Fretes Zárate minister of Public Health and Social Welfare. The appointment was formalized by Decree No. 6,889, dated September 13, after Fretes left the presidency of the board of directors of the Social Security Institute (IPS). A physician trained at the National University of Asunción, specializing in General Surgery and Coloproctology, he holds master’s degrees in Public Health and Hospital Management and Administration.
Fretes taught at the First Chair of Surgery at the UNA Faculty of Medical Sciences and headed the Paraguayan Society of Surgery, the Paraguayan Society of Coloproctology and the Latin American Society of Coloproctology. He also headed the Navy Medical Service, the Central Military Hospital and the Armed Forces Medical Service, as well as holding medical and administrative positions at the IPS.