The government of Paraguay on Thursday effectively ordered the US ambassador to leave the South American nation, escalating tensions between the allies in the wake of the Biden administration's sanctions on a tobacco company linked to the country's powerful former president. In a dramatic statement that took diplomats aback, the AP reports, the Paraguayan Foreign Ministry asked the US government to "accelerate the departure process" of Ambassador Marc Ostfield, a career diplomat appointed by President Biden in June 2021. Ostfield's expedited departure, the ministry said, would "avoid the loss of confidence in a person damaging the relationship that we have historically maintained."
The request appeared to be in protest of the White House's latest move to tighten its sanctions against Horacio Cartes, one of Paraguay's wealthiest people who served as president from 2013-18, owns dozens of lucrative businesses, and retains considerable influence over the country's ruling Colorado party. The US first sanctioned the cigarette tycoon last year, accusing him of "significant corruption." On Tuesday, the US Treasury Department announced sanctions on Tabacalera del Este, a large tobacco producer that the US government accused of illegally funneling millions of dollars to Cartes, its former majority shareholder.
The company, also known as Tabesa, has angrily rejected the accusations and referred to the sanctions as an "abuse of power" by the US government. Cartes has denied all allegations of corruption and said he no longer owns nor is directly involved in Tabesa's operations, per the AP. The US Embassy in Paraguay confirmed that the Foreign Ministry had summoned Ambassador Ostfield for a meeting Thursday, saying only that officials "had a good discussion and talked about the sanction announcement as well as other topics." Summoning a foreign ambassador for explanations is typically intended to express protest on the part of a host country.
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