Paraguay far-right populist presidential candidate arrested
Police in Paraguay have detained Paraguayo Cubas, a far-right populist who came in third in Sunday’s presidential election and had alleged without evidence that the vote was marred by fraud
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Paraguayan police on Friday detained Paraguayo Cubas, a far-right populist who came in third in Sunday’s presidential election and encouraged his supporters to protest over his unsubstantiated claims that the vote was marred by fraud.
Cubas was being held in preventive detention under an order by the Attorney General’s Office that is accusing him of breach of the peace, Police Commissioner Gilberto Fleitas said in a radio interview.
Cubas, the candidate of the National Crusade Party who received 23% of the votes Sunday, was broadcasting live on Facebook when officers detained him outside his hotel in San Lorenzo, around 15 kilometers (9 miles) from of Asunción. He had been telling supporters since Monday that he was heading to the capital to lead the protests.
The Organization of American States, which deployed an observation mission for the election, said Tuesday there was "no reason to doubt the results” of the vote count.
Santiago Peña of the long-ruling Colorado Party easily won Sunday’s presidential election with 43% of the vote.