A review by the Paraguayan Lawyers’ Coordinating Body (COAPY) and the organization Somos Anticorrupción Py lists 21 people linked to the Colorado Party (ANR), including former senators, lawmakers, governors and mayors. According to the list, six people have final convictions, five have been convicted but do not have final sentences, and 10 have not received a final conviction. The cases include proceedings awaiting oral trial or a preliminary hearing.
The most recently added case is that of former senator Hernán Rivas, sentenced to eight years in prison for indirect perpetration and the use of public documents containing false information. The report also says the court found that his university law degree was false and described him as a “ghost student.”
Among the six final convictions identified by the list is that of former president of the Rural and Land Development Institute (Indert), Justo Pastor Cárdenas, sentenced to seven years for illicit enrichment and money laundering. The list also includes former senator Víctor Bogado, in the “Golden Nanny” case, for improper collection of fees and fraud; former Central Department governor Hugo Javier González, for breach of trust; and Eladio Ramón Alcaraz. Former Lambaré mayor Roberto Cárdenas Ramírez was convicted of breach of trust and is serving a principal eight-year sentence at the National Penitentiary of Tacumbú, according to the report.
Former senator Erico Galeano, linked to Honor Colorado—a movement within the Colorado Party led by former president Horacio Cartes—has a 13-year sentence for money laundering and criminal association related to drug trafficking and Operation A Ultranza Py. The list classifies the conviction as final and records a pending constitutional challenge.
Among the five sentences without a final decision is that of Oscar “Ñoño” Núñez, brother of lawmaker Basilio “Bachi” Núñez: sentenced at first instance to 11 years, he is awaiting an appeal under house arrest. Former senator Ulises Quintana is awaiting oral trial in a case related to Law 1,340, which addresses the suppression of illicit drug trafficking. Former Guairá governor Rodolfo Friedmann is also awaiting oral trial in a case involving money laundering and other offenses; a preliminary hearing for former lawmaker Orlando Gabriel Arévalo is pending.
The list also includes cases at various stages involving Patricia Corvalán, former mayor of Quyquyhó; Óscar Andrés Rodríguez, former mayor of Asunción; Tomás Olmedo, former mayor of Ñemby; and Gustavo Adolfo Rodríguez, former mayor of San Pedro de Ycuamandyyú. Hernán Adolar Schlender and Víctor Bernardo Garay Olmedo are listed separately, both as former mayors of Jesús de Tavarangüé. The case of Óscar Rubén González Chaves, former Luque councilman and son of former senator Óscar González Daher, is being reassessed following a recent Supreme Court ruling.
The figures describe different judicial situations, not 21 convictions. The list distinguishes six final convictions, five appealable sentences and 10 cases without a final conviction; these categories are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Each person’s status depends on the stage specified for their case.