Paraguayan president threatens to mutilate corrupt government ministers

Paraguay President Horacio Cartes has issued a bloody warning to members of his own government should they be caught dipping into the public purse - he says he will cut off their hands.

Mr Cartes, one of the country’s richest men, delivered the ultimatum during a speech in Villa Hayes, near the Paraguayan capital of Asunción.

"Stop robbing,” Mr Cartes said, speaking at a site where public housing is being constructed.

“Don't rob anymore. It's the people's money.'' 

Mr Cartes, who was elected in 2013, is involved in a gamut of lucrative business interests and once served time in jail for fraud (he was later acquitted).

He has also been a target of the US Drug Enforcement Administration, as well as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Last year he was accused of using his business connections – he owns a bank – to create an offshore tax haven.

Paraguay has long endured corrupt governments; two members of the former government are currently on trial for misappropriating public funds.

Source: Al Jazeera
Author: Nick Alexander, Approving editor: Chloe Ross