SENSE BAN ON EXIT:argentine Senator’s Bid to Regain Seat Blocked Despite Trying to Smuggle $200k
Paraguayan authorities released footage showing how senator Edgardo Kueider attempted to illegally enter the country with $200,000, strengthening their case against him. Now, a federal judge has blocked his attempt to reclaim his Senate seat.
Argentina‘s Senador Expelled, Arrested for Smuggling Cash to Paraguay
Kueider, a senator from Entre Rios, was detained at the Puente de la Amistad bridge on New Year’s Eve with his secretary, Iara Guinsel Costa. They had stashed over $200,000 in their vehicle without declaring it to customs. Costa was also under house arrest.
Footage captured Kueider’s actions before, during, and after his seizure. It reveals that they had spent nearly 25 minutes at the border post. Despite other cars passing through unimpeded, a customs search ensued. Minutes later, officers discovered and seized the money from their car.
Judicial Rebuke for expelled senator’s Appeal
Kueider had previously filed an appeal for reinstatement after being ousted from the Senate due to charges of contraband and illegal enrichment. His request was swiftly denied. On December 20, 2022, judge Enrique Lavié Pico rejected his bid to return to the Senate via an injunction. The court decision upholds Vice President Victoria Villarruel’s presence and subsequent vote at the session where Kueider’s expulsion was confirmed.
"The vice-president was legitimately at the head of the session as the constitution demands," read the ruling, citing the constitutional authority of the VP to step in for the absent president.
Despite Kueider’s lawyer claiming the vote to expel was "irregular and without foundation," the court firmly supported the majority’s decision.
Readers will keep a watch on this story, as further updates may alter Kueider’s legal trajectory or the larger impact on the Senate’s ongoing corruption probes.
