Uruguayan justice has charged a second diplomat who served in Russia with falsifying passports for Russian citizens, a case for which the former head of security for President Luis Lacalle Pou is in prison.
This 47-year-old diplomat, ex-Consul in Russia between 2019 and 2022, according to local media Surayado, is accused of "
repeated offenses
" during the delivery of Uruguayan passports to Russia, according to a spokesperson for the prosecution.
His passport has been taken from him and he is not allowed to leave the country, he added.
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Political tensions
The investigation into the involvement of this diplomat, who continued his career in the United States, caused political tensions in Uruguay.
One of his predecessors had already been charged.
In this case, the former head of security for the Uruguayan president, Alejandro Astesiano, in office since the inauguration of Mr. Lacalle Pou in 2020 until his arrest last September, was sentenced in mid-February to four years and half of prison.
Mr. Astesiano was notably found guilty of criminal association and influence peddling.
He was being prosecuted for participating in an organization that falsified documents to enable the issuance of Uruguayan passports to Russian citizens.
This case has affected the image of the centre-right president who has admitted that the appointment of his security chief was a "
mistake
".