The Paraguayan government has asked the US ambassador to leave the South American country, escalating tensions between the allies after the Joe Biden administration imposed sanctions on a tobacco company linked to the country.
In a statement that stunned diplomats, the Paraguayan Foreign Ministry asked the US government to ‘expedite the departure process’ of Ambassador Marc Ostfield, appointed by President Joe Biden in June 2021.
The ministry said expediting Ostfield’s departure would ‘prevent a loss of confidence in an individual who has damaged the relationship we have historically maintained’.
The request is understood to be a protest against the White House’s recent move to tighten sanctions against Horacio Cartes, one of Paraguay’s richest men, who served as president from 2013-18, owns dozens of lucrative businesses and wields significant influence over the country’s ruling Colorado party. The US government first sanctioned the cigarette kingpin last year, accusing him of ‘significant corruption’.
The US Treasury Department announced sanctions against Tabacalera del Este, a major tobacco producer that the US government accuses of illegally transferring millions of dollars to Cartes, a former majority shareholder.
The company, also known as Tabesa, angrily denied the accusations and called the sanctions an ‘abuse of power’ by the US government. Cartes denied all allegations of corruption and said he no longer owned Tabesa or was not directly involved in its activities.
It is unclear when the ambassador will leave. Ostfield’s successor has been identified but the Senate has not yet started the confirmation process, which could take several months to several years.
Paraguayan Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano told a press conference that the government objects to ‘media coverage and politicisation of the administration’s sanctions’: ‘Any direct or indirect interference by any state in Paraguay’s internal affairs jeopardises our independence and sovereignty.’
