The government of Paraguay has effectively ordered the United States ambassador to leave the South American nation, escalating tensions between the allies in the wake of the Biden administration’s sanctions on a tobacco company linked to the country’s powerful former president. In a statement Thursday, the Paraguayan Foreign Ministry asked the U.S. government to “accelerate the departure process” of Ambassador Marc Ostfield, a career diplomat appointed by President Joe Biden in June 2021. The request appeared to be in protest against the White House’s tightening of sanctions against Horacio Cartes, the former president who retains considerable political influence. The U.S. government first sanctioned the cigarette tycoon last year, accusing him of “significant corruption.”
