Right-wing Presidential Candidate in Paraguay Arrested

On Friday, Paraguayo Cubas, a right-wing candidate who finished third in last week's presidential election, was arrested by Paraguayan police. After the election results were announced and he lost, Cubas claimed that there was fraud in the election and called on his supporters to protest in the streets. According to the Associated Press, Gilberto Fleitas, a police commissioner, stated in a radio interview that Cubas is in temporary detention under a directive from the Attorney General, who accuses him of 'disturbing public order.' Paraguayo Cubas, also known as Payo, is a former senator from the 'National Movement' party, which garnered 23% of the votes. In the election, Santiago Peña, the former Minister of Finance and candidate from the ruling 'Colorado Party,' won. The second place was taken by Efrain Alegre from the PLRA party, who received 27.5% of the votes. Cubas was live-streaming on Facebook when police officers arrested him outside his hotel in San Lorenzo, a suburb of the capital. He had told his supporters that he would lead protests outside the polling station in Asunción starting Monday, which had already led to separate clashes with police. Additionally, on Thursday, Paraguayan police announced that over two hundred people were arrested 'for disturbing public order.' On the other hand, Efrain Alegre, the candidate from a broad opposition coalition who finished second, called for the release of Cubas and all those arrested during the protests this week. Alegre accepted defeat shortly after the voting ended but called for a manual recount of the votes and a recount of electronic votes after Cubas's claims of fraud on Monday.