Paraguay Leader on Trial in Senate

ASUNCION, Paraguay —  With protesters calling for his ouster, President Raul Cubas Grau went on trial in Paraguay’s Senate on Thursday, facing abuse of power charges that could drive him from office.

Cubas was impeached by Paraguay’s lower house Wednesday in proceedings hastened by the assassination of his vice president a day earlier.

As troops patrolled streets to maintain calm during the third day of a labor strike, senators in a tense four-hour session accused Cubas of illegally freeing a former army general from prison.

The Senate gave the president’s legal team 48 hours to prepare his defense and planned to reconvene Saturday.

If found guilty by at least two-thirds of the 45-member Senate, Cubas would be stripped of power and replaced by Senate President Luis Gonzalez Maachi.

Lawmakers said they hoped that the trial will end next week.

The assassination Tuesday of Vice President Luis Maria Argana stepped up the judicial actions in the legislature against Cubas, whom many lawmakers blame for the political turmoil that led to the shooting.

As the trial opened, thousands gathered outside Congress carrying signs that read “Out with Cubas!”

Helmeted troops with shields and batons stood watch.

The crowd shouted “Assassins!” as a small number of congressional supporters of Cubas entered the building under heavy police guard.

Most storefronts were shuttered and public services suspended for the third straight day amid a widespread work stoppage to protest the assassination and political strife. Schoolchildren roamed the downtown streets as schools were closed.

Inside the Senate, Angel Ramon Barchini explained the charges lodged by Paraguay’s lower house Wednesday.

“In violation of the constitution, Cubas has assumed the powers of both the legislative and judicial bodies,” the congressman said, referring to Cubas’ decision to free former army chief Gen. Lino Oviedo from jail. “This is incapacity to govern.”

Cubas ordered the release of his mentor in August, just months after Oviedo was sentenced to 10 years for attempting to oust then-President Juan Carlos Wasmosy in 1996.