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Jesús de Tavarangüe trial: Court reprimands witnesses accused of withholding information Image: Gentileza
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Crime & Justice

Jesús de Tavarangüe trial: Court reprimands witnesses accused of withholding information

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources In the courts
  • The trial of Jesús de Tavarangüe mayor Víctor Garay continues over alleged mismanagement that caused a 2.44 billion-guaraní loss to public funds.
  • The court reprimanded witnesses Juan Zayas and Sonia Brítez over testimony that prosecutors or judges considered partial or incomplete.
  • Prosecutor Luis Alberto Albertini requested a face-to-face confrontation between Zayas and architect Roque Ortíz after their accounts conflicted.

The trial of Jesús de Tavarangüe mayor Víctor Garay took a sharper turn when the court reprimanded witnesses accused of giving incomplete testimony that could benefit the defendant.

Juan Zayas, a former vice president of the municipality’s Development Council, appeared first. The council was headed by Garay, who faces trial over the alleged misuse of special funds and a suspected 2.44 billion-guaraní loss to the municipality.

When Zayas appeared to withhold information or provide only partial answers, presiding judge Elsa García reminded him that he was testifying under oath. She warned that false testimony, covered by Article 242 of the Criminal Code, carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years.

Supporting the president in his administration. Moving forward with the projects that had to be developed.

— Juan ZayasZayas described his role on the Development Council while omitting that the mayor chaired the commission.

Zayas said his role involved supporting the president’s administration and advancing planned projects, but he did not mention that the mayor himself chaired the commission. He also said three checks issued to the Development Council resulted from an administrative error by the treasurer and had later been corrected. He said he could not remember the treasurer’s name.

His testimony conflicted with earlier evidence from architect Roque Ortíz, who was responsible for supervising works funded through special municipal grants intended for construction and cultural heritage preservation. Ortíz previously said he faced pressure, demands for money and incomplete payment of his fees. He identified Zayas as the intermediary who allegedly requested money in exchange for helping ensure the continuation of projects and future contracts, both in person and through WhatsApp messages. Ortíz offered those messages as evidence.

Because Zayas denied knowing Ortíz or having contact with him, prosecutor Luis Alberto Albertini asked the court to arrange a confrontation between the two witnesses at a later hearing. Sonia Brítez, listed as the owner of Brítez Emprendimiento, also testified. The article notes that she had been a homemaker before receiving a contract to build paved roads.

They were an administrative error by the treasurer and it was corrected.

— Juan ZayasHe explained why three checks had been issued to the Development Council.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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