Hugo Adalberto Velázquez Moreno (born 3 July 1967) is a

Paraguayan Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

politician. He is a former Deputy of the

Congress of Paraguay Paraguay's bicameral Congress ''(Congreso)'' consists of a 45-member Senate and an 80-member Chamber of Deputies. It serves as the legislative branch of the Paraguayan state. Both chambers of Congress are elected concurrently with the pre ...

, and he served the

President of the Chamber of Deputies President of the Chamber of Deputies may refer to: * List of presidents of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies * List of presidents of the Chamber of Deputies of Bolivia * President of the Chamber of Deputies (Brazil) * President of the Chamber of Dep ...

from 2014 to 2017. Velázquez was elected

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

in the 2018 elections. In June 2022, he registered his candidacy for president in the 2023 Paraguayan general election. However, on 12 August 2022, Velázquez was designated as "significantly corrupt" by the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

, who accuses him of offering a US$1 million bribe to obstruct an investigation involving him, along with an associate, Juan Carlos Duarte, legal counsel for the Yacyreta Dam, and both men had their visa revoked. As a result, Velázquez announced he was dropping his presidential candidacy, effective immediately, and his resignation as Vice President, effective the following week. However, the following week, Velázquez stated that he would not resign from the vice presidency, stating that there were no investigations for corruption against him in Paraguay.

References

External links

Official deputy website
Living people 1967 births Colorado Party (Paraguay) politicians Vice presidents of Paraguay Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies of Paraguay 21st-century Paraguayan politicians {{Paraguay-politician-stub