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Paraguay: 'Mafia of Promissory Notes' Trial Suspended by Defendant's Recusal
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Crime & Justice

Paraguay: 'Mafia of Promissory Notes' Trial Suspended by Defendant's Recusal

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources In the courts
  • A trial for the "Mafia of the promissory notes" case was suspended due to a procedural challenge by a defendant.
  • The prosecution accuses defendants of attempting to collect a debt three times after it had already been canceled.
  • The case involves alleged fraud through the judicial system, with a victim claiming debts were re-executed after being paid.

The highly anticipated trial in the "Mafia of the promissory notes" case was halted on August 14, 2026, before it could begin. A procedural challenge, known as a "chicana procesal," was filed at the last minute by one of the defendants, causing the suspension. The prosecution alleges that the defendants engaged in a scheme of procedural fraud, attempting to collect a single debt three times after it had already been canceled.

A procedural challenge filed at the last minute by the defense once again stalled the trial of the defendants for a procedural fraud scheme that economically affected a worker.

— ABC ColorDescribing the procedural maneuver that led to the trial's suspension.

The suspension occurred as the trial court was constituted and ready to open the oral debate. However, the accused and her lawyer submitted a recusal against all members of the tribunal. The defendant argued that the case was not initiated by a "neutral judge," which she claimed violated her due process rights. The tribunal suspended the proceedings and sent the case files to the Chamber of Appeals for a decision on the recusal.

the cause was not initiated by a 'neutral judge,' which constitutes a direct violation of her procedural guarantees.

— The accusedHer argument for recusing the tribunal members.

Despite this delay, the public prosecutor expressed confidence that the trial could still proceed on the scheduled dates of August 17 and 18. The case's background involves a pattern of asset stripping through the civil judicial system. Between 2013 and 2015, the victim, Ángela Zárate, took out two loans totaling 7,200,000 guaraníes from Vanesa S.A. These loans were fully repaid via automatic salary deductions. However, in 2020, five years after the debts were settled, representatives of the firm, along with lawyer Zully Ortiz García, initiated legal action based on the two canceled promissory notes. They allegedly altered the documents to show a February 2018 date, leading the civil court to order new salary deductions against the victim.

we trust we can unblock the process and hold the hearing.

— The public prosecutorExpressing confidence in proceeding with the trial despite the delay.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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