In a stunning turn in the oral trial, Paraguayan prosecutor Ysrael Villalba dropped a bombshell: he requested two years and two months in prison for former national senator Edgardo Kueider and his former secretary, Iara Guinsel Costa. The request, presented this Monday before the Sentencing Court of Asunción, nearly reaches the maximum penalty for the crime of attempted smuggling, which is two years and six months.
“After the oral and public debate, for the prosecution the existence of the criminal offense of attempted smuggling has been demonstrated,” Villalba said, citing Article 326, subsection B of the Paraguayan Customs Code. The accusation maintains that the defendants attempted to bring in or take out merchandise — in this case, cash, which Paraguayan law considers as such — in a secret compartment or false bottom, evading normal customs inspection. It all happened at night, at the Paraguayan end of the Friendship Bridge, when a Chevrolet Trailblazer truck coming from Foz do Iguaçu was intercepted with US$211,000, 646,000 Argentine pesos, and 3.9 million guaraníes hidden in a backpack in the back seat.
The prosecution emphasized that the accused did not declare the money, which is mandatory for amounts over US$10,000, and that they violated “administrative rules and the customs code.” Villalba was even harsher: “The flow of unregistered cash is part of the catalog of punishable acts. It is a precedent for money laundering.” And he issued a warning: the free circulation of large sums without declaring them would cause “serious damage to our legal system.”
But it doesn’t end there. The prosecutor also criticized their attitude: “Neither has shown even a hint of remorse. Although they have the right to remain silent, they have not apologized to the Paraguayans for the actions committed.” A low blow for the defense, which immediately counterattacked.
Lawyers Marcelo Bogado and Carlos Arévalo requested outright acquittal. They argued that the prosecution did not prove the crime and that it resorted to “analogies and stretching interpretations that are not covered” by current laws. They questioned, above all, that cash is considered merchandise. A deep legal debate that promises to stir things up.
After the arguments, the Sentencing Court — presided over by Judge Elsa García and composed of Adriana Planás and Matías Garcete Piris — went into recess. The hearing will resume on Monday the 13th at 9:30 a.m. at the Palace of Justice in Asunción, where rebuttals and surrebuttals will be heard, and the final verdict could be delivered.
Meanwhile, Kueider and Guinsel remain under house arrest since December 4, 2024. But the former senator has another problem: Argentine justice is also after him. The Federal Chamber of San Martín rejected his exemption from prison and ordered his arrest as soon as he sets foot in the country. Additionally, Judge Sandra Arroyo Salgado requested his extradition, which Paraguay has already approved, but conditioned on the completion of local proceedings.
The outlook is bleak for Kueider: if convicted in Paraguay, he could add years in prison; if he returns to Argentina, a court awaits him. Will the former senator’s downfall come?
Para mí, dos años es un chiste, Kueider chorro debería pudrirse en cana por afanarle la guita a los laburantes. La secretaria, otra yira que se creía viva. Esto huele a los K de siempre, llenos de deudas y robando. ¡A la mierda con estos corruptos!
Para mí estos oligarcas se creen intocables, choreando guita impunemente. Dos años es poco, deberían pudrirse en cana. La derecha defiende a sus amigos mientras el pueblo se caga de hambre. ¡Justicia para los laburantes!