Paraguay's specialized economic-crimes court sentenced Edgardo Kueider and Iara Guinsel to two years in prison, suspended, for attempted smuggling. The case began in December 2024, when they tried to enter Ciudad del Este from Foz do Iguaçu carrying US$200,000 undeclared. The ruling leaves the former Entre Ríos representative facing a foreign conviction he has already said he will appeal.
Matías Garcete Piris, who sat on the court with Adriana Planas and presiding judge Elsa García, defended the process as a response grounded in law and evidence. He separated public impact from judicial assessment and said being a lawmaker or political figure cannot alter procedural guarantees. In his account, the case had to be decided under the same standard applied to any person.
The verdict was unanimous and was issued after the trial's final session on July 13. The judges said their conviction was built during the hearings and that the conduct fell under Article 336 of Paraguay's Customs Code, as amended by Law 6,417 of 2019, together with Criminal Code provisions. That legal combination supported the attempted-smuggling classification.
The central dispute was whether transporting banknotes can constitute smuggling. The defense argued that the law reserves the offense for merchandise and that cash found in the Chevrolet Trailblazer did not qualify. The court devoted extensive reasoning to the question because developed precedents are scarce: similar cases usually end through abbreviated proceedings before reaching an oral trial.
Garcete Piris said that feature makes the judgment significant without yet turning it into settled case law. The public trial allowed the substance of the issue to be debated and the inclusion of undeclared cash in the offense to be expressly explained. He linked that interpretation to Law 6,417, adopted after Financial Action Task Force recommendations to clarify cross-border cash rules.
Kueider and Guinsel chose not to testify during trial, a decision the court did not treat as evidence of guilt. The judge explained that silence is a right under Paraguay's Constitution and criminal procedure. The former senator spoke only during final statements, but that stage allows a last request and is neither formal testimony nor evidence.
The appeal is expected to focus on the claim that money is not merchandise and on comparative law that Kueider says was overlooked. Until a higher court reviews the case, the suspended sentence remains in force and, according to the tribunal, rests only on evidence produced at trial. The next stage will determine whether the legal interpretation applied to the US$200,000 crossing stands or must be revised.
