US designates former Paraguayan officials over alleged corruptions

WASHINGTON - The US Department of State said on Tuesday that it had designated two former Paraguayan officials with corruption accusations, banning the two and their immediate family members from entering the United States.

The two designated officials were the former president of Paraguay's judicial disciplinary board and senator Oscar Gonzalez Daher,  and former Attorney General Javier Diaz Veron, the State Department said in a statement.

Members of the two Paraguayan officials' immediate family were also designated by the State Department, according to the statement.

"In cases where the Secretary of State has credible information that current or former officials of foreign governments have been involved in significant corruption, those individuals and their immediate family members are ineligible for entry into the United States," the statement said.

The United States calls on Paraguay to continue to take actions to enhance transparency and strengthen the rule of law within its democracy, the statement added.

The move came days ahead of Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benitez's visit to the United States on Dec. 13, which will be the first visit of a Paraguayan president to the United States in more than a decade.