Raúl Cubas Grau
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| Raúl Cubas | |
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| In office August 15, 1998 – March 29, 1999 |
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| Preceded by | Juan Carlos Wasmosy |
| Succeeded by | Luis Ángel González Macchi |
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| Born | August 23, 1943 Asuncion, Paraguay |
| Political party | Colorado Party |
Raúl Alberto Cubas Grau (born August 23, 1943) was the President of Paraguay from 1998 until 1999. He was a member of the Colorado Party. Prior to standing for election, he worked as an electrical engineer, and served as finance minister of Paraguay from 1993 until his resignation in April 1996.
When the 1998 campaign began, army general Lino Oviedo named Cubas as his running mate. However, a few months before the election, Oviedo was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in a 1996 coup and was disqualified. Cubas took his place on the ballot and won, largely on a platform of freeing Oviedo. In fact, his first act after being sworn in was to free the general. The Supreme Court questioned the move, and the legislature began impeachment proceedings against Cubas. A court later ordered Oviedo back to prison.
In early 1999, Cubas' vice-president, Luis María Argaña, who had been named as Cubas' running mate to prevent the Colorados from losing power, was brutally murdered, allegedly as a result of a dispute over the Oviedo release. Cubas was implicated and protests broke out. Security forces were called out, and seven people were shot to death.
Cubas' support virtually collapsed. The Chamber of Deputies impeached him by an overwhelming margin the next day. Facing certain conviction and removal from office by the Senate, Cubas resigned on March 28 1999 and fled to Brazil. He returned to Paraguay in 2002 and was immediately arrested and tried for conspiracy to murder Argaña.
In October 2004, his daughter Cecilia Cubas was kidnapped and murdered, although Cubas paid a ransom of US$800,000. Her body was found in a house outside Asunción in February 2005. Four men were arrested, including one with alleged ties to the Colombian rebel movement FARC. In july of 2006 two suspects of the crime were granted refugee status in neighbor Bolivia.[1]
| Preceded by Juan Carlos Wasmosy |
President of Paraguay 1998-1999 |
Succeeded by Luis Ángel González Macchi |
[edit] External links
- Cecila Cubas body found - MSNBC
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