Ex-President Scrutinized Over Cigarette Shipment

The U.S. government has blacklisted former Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes for his role in “significant corruption,” a move that prevents Cartes from entering the United States, reports The Wall Street Journal.

The decision follows revelations that an aircraft formerly owned by an Iranian carrier that is blacklisted by the U.S. Treasury for alleged arms trafficking transported cigarettes from a company owned by the former president.

Earlier this year, Paraguay’s then interior minister, Arnaldo Giuzzio, accused Cartes of laundering money and illicit enrichment tied to the alleged sale of contraband cigarettes from the former president’s tobacco company, Tabacalera del Este, known as Tabesa. The assertions didn’t lead to charges.

Last month, Paraguay’s top anti-corruption official, Rene Fernandez, called for a probe into allegations that Tabesa was linked to a group of Venezuelan and Iranian men who traveled through Paraguay in May. Paraguayan prosecutors are now investigating the men for alleged links to terrorism, though they have not been charged, government documents show.

The plane and its crew were grounded in Argentina last month, with authorities there saying they are investigating alleged terrorism ties.

Flight logs show that the jet reported carrying $754,000 worth of cigarettes sourced from Tabesa when it flew out from Paraguay to Aruba on May 16, according to the anti-corruption office. Listed as the recipient of the cargo was Tabacos USA, a Pennsylvania-registered company also owned by Cartes.

Paraguay, which borders Brazil and Argentina, has long been at the center of the illegal trade of contraband goods and drugs, according to security experts in the U.S. and Latin America.