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🇵🇾 Paraguay /Elections & Politics

Two council candidates jailed after protest outside Cartes' home

From ABC Color · () Spanish

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

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Police detained opposition council candidates Pablo Callizo and Sebastián Garay during a peaceful protest outside former President Horacio Cartes's residence in Asunción.
  • The protesters said officers handcuffed them, took their belongings and held them at the Tenth Police Station.
  • The protest used stuffed toys to support public doctors' salary demands and criticize state spending, while the detention occurred as Colorado Party figures met at Cartes's home.

A peaceful protest outside Horacio Cartes's residence ended with two opposition council candidates in a police cell, according to ABC Color. Asunción councilor Pablo Callizo and candidate Sebastián Garay, both members of Partido Patria Querida and the opposition alliance in the capital, were detained during what organizers called a “stuffed-toy protest.”

The demonstration on Avenida España supported public doctors seeking salary adjustments and challenged the use of state funds. Protesters said police removed their belongings, handcuffed the two candidates and took them to the Tenth Police Station in Asunción. A video circulated by the publication showed officers using force during the arrests, the report said.

From the police station, Callizo accused the authorities of protecting private interests and restricting citizens' freedom of expression. “They brought us here just for holding a peaceful demonstration on a sidewalk, in a public space belonging to someone who believes he owns the country and uses the police to protect his interests, not the interests of citizens,” he said.

They brought us here just for holding a peaceful demonstration on a sidewalk, in a public space belonging to someone who believes he owns the country and uses the police to protect his interests, not the interests of citizens.

· Pablo CallizoThe opposition councilor criticized the police detention from the Tenth Police Station.

Garay told ABC that officers did not properly inform them of their rights. He also questioned the police response to a group of about 15 people who were demonstrating peacefully. “They took off our shoes, took all our belongings, and the stuffed toys are still being held, as if we had been breaking some law,” he said.

The arrests took place on the same day that Senate President Basilio “Bachi” Núñez and other Colorado Party figures met at Cartes's residence while a bicameral budget committee worked on the 2027 national budget.

They took off our shoes, took all our belongings, and the stuffed toys are still being held, as if we had been breaking some law.

· Sebastián GarayThe council candidate described how police treated the protesters and questioned the detention.
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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