Video: Hugo Javier transferred to Itauguá National Hospital

Former Central governor Hugo Javier González was transferred Monday from Barrio Obrero General Hospital to Itauguá National Hospital after suffering a severe stroke in his cell at La Esperanza prison.

González initially received emergency treatment at Barrio Obrero. Doctors quickly intubated him and placed him in an induced coma because of the seriousness of his condition. He was being kept on mechanical ventilation while staff sought a bed in a higher-complexity intensive-care unit.

The medical emergency began shortly after 11:30 p.m. Sunday, when prison authorities noticed that González had become unwell. He was evacuated to Barrio Obrero for stabilization before being moved again in a mobile intensive-care unit.

Doctors noticed bruises across his face, prompting suspicions that he might have been beaten. Medical staff at Barrio Obrero said the injuries could instead have resulted from severe head trauma after he collapsed from his own height when he suddenly lost consciousness. The hospital director stressed that this remained a clinical assumption, since there was no video recording or eyewitness to the exact moment he fell.