(Photo: Taco Tuinstra)
The United States is imposing sanctions on Tabacalera del Este (Tabesa) of Paraguay for allegedly enriching the country’s former president, Horacio Manuel Cartes Jara, a cigarette tycoon sanctioned by the White House for corruption.
One of Paraguay’s richest men, Cartes Jara served as president from 2013 to 2018 and still wields significant political power in the country, according to the Associated Press.
In 2023, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Cartes Jara over accusations that he had paid millions of dollars in bribes to lawmakers to pave his way to power and that he had cultivated ties to Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group, which is believed to operate in the tri-border area where Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay meet.
On March 31, 2023, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) identified Tabesa as an entity in which Cartes Jara owned a 50 percent or greater interest. Pursuant to a sales agreement between Tabesa and Cartes Jara, Tabesa has made payments worth millions of dollars to Cartes Jara, according to the OFAC.
“Today’s actions reinforce the United States’ sanctions on former President Cartes and demonstrate the U.S.’ commitment to ensuring the integrity of our sanctions programs and inhibiting Cartes’ ability to receive financial benefits,” said State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller in a press note.
“The United States remains dedicated to ensuring accountability for Cartes and to promoting meaningful anti-corruption reform in Paraguay.”
The OFAC’s designation of Tabesa was taken in the context of the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act.
Cartes Jara says he no longer owns nor is actively involved in the management of Tabacalera del Este, a company that has drawn scrutiny because of its massive volumes of cigarette sales in a relatively small market.