Argentina’s political class has been rocked by a new scandal after it emerged that a senator was arrested at a Paraguayan border crossing Wednesday carrying hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash.
Unidad Federal Senator Edgardo Darío Kueider, who represents Entre Ríos Province, was arrested in the small hours of Wednesday morning at the International Friendship Bridge linking Brazil to Paraguay carrying undeclared sums of over US$200,000 and 600,000 pesos in cash on his person.
Kueider, 52, was elected in 2019 on a Peronist ticket. He has since distanced himself from Kirchnerism, backing the ruling La Libertad Avanza party on key votes.
The senator's arrest was confirmed by Paraguayan Internal Revenue Director Óscar Orué in statements to the local 780 AM radio station.
Kueider remains out of custody, lodging at a Ciudad del Este hotel where he awaits a summons to testify from the prosecutor of the case, Orué said Wednesday morning.
“if he does not justify the backing of the money he could be prosecuted for smuggling or money-laundering," said the official.
Orué said that it is not illegal to bring in such a large sum of money. "What he did not do was declare it," he said.
Arrest
The arrest was made just after midnight during a routine stop at the International Friendship Bridge, which runs over the Paraná river, a few kilometres from from the Argentine city of Puerto Iguazú.
Personnel from Paraguay’s DNIT (Dirección Nacional de Ingresos Tributarios) tax authorities found an undeclared sum of over US$211,102 in packages in his car, informed by DNIT director Orué, along with 646,000 Argentine pesos (around US$632) and roughly four million Paraguayan guaranis (around US$512).
Kueider could not justify either the origin of the money or its destination, prompting the opening of administrative proceedings and a criminal investigation.
"During a routine check at 12.40am at the International Friendship Bridge linking Paraguay and Brazil, a vehicle was identified and opened with the person inside informing that he was carrying money. After due procedure communication was made with the intervening prosecutor at whose disposal he remained," Orué informed local radio.
“A vehicle was verified to be entering Paraguayan territory and on opening it, we found some packages. Their owner was asked and he informed that they were dollars,” Orué elaborated.
Kueider "did not collaborate in the sense of informing why he was carrying the money or for whom. That will be determined by the administrative procedure,” added the official.
The undeclared banknotes have been confiscated and are being stored by the local DNIT branch.
Paraguayan authorities said in a statement that the senator “did not comply with the obligatory declaration” which must be made by any person crossing over “with that sum of money.”
The national Secretariat for the Prevention of Money-Laundering is now investigating the origin of the money, while Argentina’s Ambassador to Paraguay Guillermo Nielsen has been apprised of the situation.
"Now the prosecutor is in charge and must determine whether he remains under arrest or has immunity,” Orué pointed out.
Edgar Benítez, of the Prosecution Unit N°2 and a specialist in anti-contraband, is the prosecutor.
Political background
Born in Buenos Aires on July 10, 1972, Kueider began his political career as a municipal councillor in Concordia, Entre Ríos Province, between 1999 and 2003. He subsequently occupied various provincial posts, including gubernatorial chief-of-staff during the 2015-2019 term of ex-governor Gustavo Bordet .
In 2019 he was elected national senator with 45.46 percent of the votes, representing the Frente de Todos (Peronist) coalition.
Although he initially represented Kirchnerism when he became senator, Kueider broke away from the Peronist caucus in the upper house in 2022. He explained that he did so in defence of the interests of Entre Ríos, his home province.
Last September he joined the Provincias Unidas interbloc to mark his distance.
Kueider now forms part of the Unidad Federal caucus along with Carlos Mauricio ‘Camau’ Espínola (Corrientes Province) and Alejandra Vigo (Córdoba Province), chairing the Senate Constitutional Affairs Committee.
Despite his past affiliation, Kueider has warmed to the La Libertad Avanza government since President Javier Milei’s election to office. Together with Espínola, he voted in favour of the sweeping ‘Ley de Bases’ mega-reform law pushed by the government.
Apart from accompanying the government in his voting, he was their man in an unsuccessful bid to chair the Intelligence Committee, linked in the local press to Milei’s top spin doctor and political advisor Santiago Caputo.
According to reporting by the La Política Online website, Kueider has recently been negotiating with the government to become Argentina's next ambassador to Uruguay.
– TIMES/NA/PERFIL
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