The Paraguayan Chamber of Deputies approved the interpellation of Juan Ernesto Villamayor, advisor to President Mario Abdo Benítez. The call is for him to explain why he met with Javier Troconis, a member of the seditious group of Juan Guaidó. This last character is accused of stealing resources from Venezuela abroad, especially assets and money related to the state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) and its subsidiaries.
Several Paraguayan media report that the interpellation will take place next Wednesday, January 20. There, Villamayor must answer the deputies’ concerns about his contacts with Guaido’s “emissary”. Among other things, the billion-dollar debt that Petróleos Paraguayos (Petropar) maintains with PDVSA will be addressed, using as an excuse that Guaidó is supposedly “interim president” of Venezuela. The former congressman invented that position with the support of Donald Trump. Since then, the United States has seized and stolen resources and assets from the CITGO refinery.
The interpellation was approved this Wednesday, «after an extensive debate». Villamayor must appear for «accusations regarding the failed agreement to settle Petropar’s debt», reports a statement from the Chamber od Deputies.
Several deputies from the Guasu Front, the largest left-wing force in Paraguay, requested the interpellation. Later, they were supported by most of the benches, including the ruling party that responds to former President Horacio Cartes (2013-2018), Benítez’s predecessor.
The objections are due «to the lack of transparency in the bilateral negotiations in which there was no intervention from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Ministry of Finance», said the statement.
During the debate, harsh criticism of Villamayor was heard, many of them coming from pro-government deputies. For example, Tadeo Rojas, requested his resignation for «tarnishing the image of the Government».
Paraguay wants to take advantage of the ‘Guaidó farce’
On this case, Villamayor has offered two press conferences. In them, he declared that the “contacts came from the Guaidó environment”, with the participation of Javier Troconis. The latter claims to be Guaidó’s «commissioner» for the «management and recovery of assets» of Venezuela abroad.
According to Villamayor, «it was a generous offer for Paraguay», after Benítez decided to recognize Guaidó «as the president in charge of Venezuela». This fact is public and notorious since Benítez was present in the attempted paramilitary invasion of Venezuela from the Colombian border.
Also, Villamayor said that the negotiations with Troconis were not successful. He alleged that there are no guarantees “that it would be validated by the International Court of Arbitration», based in Paris. This is because the case was brought there by the Government of Venezuela headed by Nicolás Maduro.
To Abdo Benítez’s advisor, he said that the draft studied in Asunción with Troconis -in November 2019- foresaw a «substantial reduction». That benefit would be 50% of the capital owed by Petropar to PDVSA, leaving the liability at $ 132,940,000.
In addition, he explained that Troconis promised that Venezuela «would waive all default, compensatory, judicial and extrajudicial interests». That means that, if they reached an agreement, the Guaidó group would steal resources that belong to the Venezuelan state.
A good deal all round
The business also compromised Venezuela, because it assumed to pay $ 26 million to the team of Argentine lawyer Sebastián Vidal. This was the one who accompanied Troconis in the meeting with Villamayor.
These types of negotiations have been widely denounced by the Venezuelan Government. In Paraguay, they met after a publication of the US newspaper The Washington Post. Criticism immediately arose from opposition parties and within the ruling party, for not having publicly informed of these efforts.
The report details a «prospective» contract with the Paraguayan government that foresees a theft of at least 26 million dollars. This, after Guaidó decided to forgive – without legal attribution – half of Petropar’s debt with PDVSA.
The commission of 26 million, for discounting half of the debt of 269 million, would be allocated to the Argentine lawyer Sebastián Vidal. This character is part of the criminal plot that revolves around Guaidó.
Paraguayan media warn that the interpellation of Villamayor could initiate a series of processes against members of the Benítez government. The Guasú Front even hopes to carry out an “impeachment” or political trial of the president, for his negotiations with Guaidó’s emissaries and other secret businesses that they intended to execute with the money that Petropar owes PDVSA.
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