Court confirms Judge Estigarribia, clearing way for Tomás Olmedo hearing

Tomás Olmedo can no longer delay his preliminary hearing after Paraguay’s Court of Appeals rejected his challenge to Judge Rodrigo Estigarribia. The court ordered the hearing to proceed in a case involving the alleged diversion of 738 million guaraníes from the Ñemby municipal government.

The former Ñemby mayor resigned from office to seek reelection on Oct. 4. Prosecutors accuse him of involvement in alleged overbilling on municipal works. The appeals panel, made up of Gustavo Amarilla, Claudia Criscioni and Raquel Luraghi, rejected his recusal request and kept Estigarribia in charge of the preliminary proceedings.

Olmedo had been the only defendant still avoiding the hearing, after filing multiple legal challenges. The other five defendants have already been sent to oral and public trial. They include municipal works director Enrique Hugo Delvalle García, works inspectors Daniel David Sánchez Arza and Flavio Javier Duarte, contractor and Mbarete Import Export owner Arnaldo Gauna Martínez, and municipal Administration and Finance director Marcos Isaías Meza.

The court’s decision removes the latest procedural obstacle to the case moving forward, while Olmedo faces the judicial process alongside his campaign for another term as mayor.