Paraguay’s Foreign Policy Predicament – OpEd

Under the watch of President Mario Abdo Benítez, Paraguay continues to greatly suffer from the daily loss of 130 citizens infected by Covid – 19, a tremendous public health crisis that has been killing over eleven thousand people and infecting over four hundred thousand others in the last eight months.  Another vicious imbroglio of the Abdo regime is the high level of corruption that has permeated every corner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: from the longevity of Consul General Reinaldo Cubilla Díaz in Washington (a Diplomat without any skills in English language and a master of Candy Crush Saga) to the Blitzkrieg decision and diplomatic offensive actions to close the doors of Paraguayan Embassy in Bern, Switzerland; even though there is over a century old legacy of strong political, commercial and cultural cooperation between the two nations. With the closing Paraguayan Embassy in Bern, Asuncion will automatically suspend its diplomatic relations with four other countries: Ukraine, Principality of Lichtenstein, Moldova and Romania; these democratic nations are oriented towards the West and North Atlantic Treaty Organization.  

In the land of Abdo, is observed a complete absence of integrity among diplomats and tremendous lack of defense of the national interests of Paraguay in the principal geopolitical hubs that can provide a strategic support to this Mediterranean Country, that is encountering a serious macroeconomic, socio-political and foreign policy crisis. 

The monumental task of contributing new thoughts and policies in Paraguay’s foreign policy execution becomes ever more difficult when newspapers such as Diario 5 Días – under the leadership of Enrique Rafael Rodríguez Duarte, a messenger of the current executive branch – and other media outlets are bought, silenced by the current government of Mario Abdo Benítez and consequently it is difficult for the country to have a dynamic foreign policy and seriously address the acts of nepotism, fraud and influence peddling, a modus operandi in many cases orchestrated by Ambassador Federico Alberto González Franco and his network of mediocre diplomats.   

José Antonio Dos Santos Bedoya is one of González’s staunch allies and members of his inner circle, who is currently the sole candidate to become Paraguay’s Ambassador in the United States, headquartered in Washington DC. The candidacy of José Antonio Dos Santos Bedoya was vigorously promoted in the National Senate by Senator Fidel Santiago Zavala Serrati, Dos Santos’ High School classmate, who is another shameless criminal who sold useless – junk helicopters to the Paraguayan Government to be used in tactical operations by the National Police; therefore illegally earning millions of dollars in cooperation with former leftist interior minister Rafael Filizzola (2013).

It is appropriate to open the files and evaluate the attitude, behavior, negotiation skills and management of José Antonio Dos Santos Bedoya during his diplomatic career representing Paraguay abroad. Several reliable sources, from the UN Secretary General’s office have confirmed that José Antonio Dos Santos – during his service in the Permanent Mission of Paraguay to the UN (for six years) has shown high levels of inability to fulfill his mission, tremendous lack of tact in public diplomacy materialized by his little or non-participation in the events organized by the UN member countries, his role was basically unnoticed before a prestigious platform where good relations among Member States are the core of international agenda.  

Furthermore, Dos Santos, a nephew of the former President Juan Carlos Wasmosy (1993-1998), in 1994 arrived to New York with a high ranking status of Consul General, during all his tenure he never participated in the official events organized by the embassies of Argentina and Brazil, MERCOSUR member countries and Paraguay’s key commercial partners; on the occasion of commemorating the national holidays of the two respective countries.

With these monstruous anti-values, that harm Paraguayan diplomacy, encompassed by Dos Santos, it is not appropriate to send a Kaigué diplomat to represent Paraguay at the center of the world, taking into account that the very same individual is highly antisocial and has never participated in the official and cultural events organized by the UN member states, a diplomatic post that he abused upon, and indeed his presence was null. It is highly beneficial and desirable to look for people who have shown commitment, gallantry and innate skills for public diplomacy and inter-social skills. The Nation of Paraguay has plenty of candidates who are bright, dynamic and true patriots, that have delivered tangible economic results in their professional lives.  Enough with the constant, grotesque facelift and babysitting of presidential nephews and of close relatives of Eladio Loizaga Caballero (former Minister of Foreign Affairs, 2013-2018) whose special envoy in the current Abdo Administration is Federico Gonzalez Franco.  The White House should never allow leftist corrupt diplomats such as Dos Santos, to visit the Oval Office and cause an irreparable damage to the harmonious strategic relations between Paraguay and the United States.

The Republic of Paraguay, is currently preparing to conduct tedious and very difficult bilateral negotiations with the Federative Republic of Brazil over the Itaipu Binacional Dam and Asuncion’s geopolitical leverage in this process does not come from the infamous Benigno López Palace (a beautiful neoclassic architecture that carries the name of a Paraguayan traitor) but emanates from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and certainly from the neoclassical dome sitting behind the statue of Ulysses S. Grant in Washington DC.  Asuncion must think outside the box and stop recycling these mafioso diplomats who have become a real burden to Paraguayan taxpayers and do not contribute a single penny to the national economy and development of this beautiful country located in the heart of South America.