Ministerio Publico

Brazilian businessman Luciano Pampado Casquel, also known in Paraguay as Luciano Pereira Castelo, fled after Paraguay’s courts ordered his arrest for extradition to Brazil, where he is wanted for homicide, after he was filmed threatening a truck driver with a pistol in Asunción.

Attorney Lalo Gómez (Eulalio Gómez Batista) told El Observador Radio TV that political tentacles directly influence judicial decisions in Coronel Oviedo and the Caaguazú department, causing poor administration of justice, and alleged that Freemasonry exerts even broader influence over courts, lower courts, the Supreme Court of Justice and Paraguay’s Public Prosecutor’s Office, supposedly having already been denounced by Justice Minister Manuel Ramírez Candia when he was superintendent of the local judicial district.

Miguel Ángel Robles Ibarra turned himself in to Paraguay’s National Police to begin serving a 10-year sentence for misappropriating G$5.1 billion from the Central Department Governor’s Office, while his former boss, Hugo Javier, is already imprisoned in the same case.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office charged former National Anti-Drug Secretariat (SENAD) technical intelligence director Mauro Ruiz Díaz and his ex-wife, Andrea Karina Martí, over suspected illicit enrichment and money laundering after they moved G. 2.8 billion with no justified origin, and requested the freezing of accounts and assets; Ruiz Díaz is also under investigation over alleged leaks linked to the A Ultranza PY case, with no conviction having been issued.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office accused former Ciudad del Este mayor Miguel Prieto, Sebastián Martínez Insfrán and councilor Valeria Romero of an alleged breach of trust involving Regional Hospital funds and asked for the case to proceed to oral trial. The request remains subject to a preliminary hearing.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office seized products containing tirzepatide from the “TG,” “Tirzec” and “Lipoless” brands at two pharmacies in Ciudad del Este. The products are suspected of being counterfeit, but their authenticity still must be confirmed by forensic testing.

The National Anti-Drug Secretariat (Senad) seized 30 7.62 mm FAL rifles hidden beneath provisions in a pickup truck in Pedro Juan Caballero and detained two brothers suspected of preparing to send the weapons to Brazil, while Paraguay’s arms sector calls for a review of import procedures and authorizations.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office is conducting a forensic examination at Copaco to investigate the alleged diversion of more than 1.1 billion guaraníes through fictitious payments to the Municipality of Asunción and transfers to personal accounts.