The Paraguayan Public Ministry requested a sentence of two years and two months in prison for former Argentine senator Edgardo Darío Kueider and his secretary, Iara Magdalena Guinsel. The request was made by prosecutor Ysrael Villalba during the final arguments of the oral trial, held this Monday before the specialized Sentencing Tribunal.
The defendants are being tried for attempted smuggling after being detained on December 4, 2024, while entering the country via the Friendship Bridge in Ciudad del Este. According to the prosecution, they were in a Chevrolet Blazer SUV and did not declare to the DNIT (National Directorate of Tax Revenue) the transport of $211,102 USD, 646,000 Argentine pesos, and 3,900,000 Paraguayan guaraníes, funds found in a bag inside the vehicle.
The prosecutor argued that their actions constitute attempted smuggling, as the law requires the declaration of values exceeding $10,000 USD, considering the money as merchandise. Villalba maintained that the evidence presented demonstrates that Kueider and Guinsel acted as co-perpetrators of the act.
In contrast, the defense, represented by lawyers Marcelo Bogado and Carlos Arévalo Giret, requested the acquittal of both. They argued that the prosecution failed to prove the material element of the crime and that, at most, the case would constitute minor smuggling, which would exempt the defendants from penalty. Former senator Kueider himself, when speaking, stated that he did not commit any illegal act in Paraguay or Argentina.
The trial, presided over by Judge Elsa García and including Judges Adriana Planás and Matías Garcete, will continue on July 13, when the defense and prosecution may present their rebuttal and surrebuttal. It is expected that the tribunal will then convene to deliberate and issue the verdict.