Lino Oviedo is a former army general and currently a politician in Paraguay. In 1996 he was asked to step down from his position as Chief of the Army by then president, Juan Carlos Wasmosy. Oviedo refused and threatened a coup if he was forced. In the end, he left the military after being baited with the offer of a position as Minister of Defense, which was rescinded at the last moment. In 1998 he entered politics and was leading in the polls for the presidential election when charges for his 1996 coup threat were brought against him. He fled the country, living in exile in Argentina and Brazil, until 2004, at which point he returned to Paraguay and was imprisoned. He served three years of a ten year sentence before being released on good behavior. On October 30, 2007 Oviedo's conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court of Paraguay and on October 31, 2007 he announced his intention to run for president in the 2008 Election.
Fast Facts:
- Born: September 23, 1943
- Former general and Chief of the Army of Paraguay
- Convicted for making threats of a coup in 1998
- In exile from 1998 to 2004 at which time he served three years in prison
- On October 30, 2007, the Supreme Court of Paraguay overturned his conviction
- Very popular with impoverished groups and Paraguay's indigenous population
- Recent polls place him in second place in the 2008 Presidential Election
Lino Oviedo News
- Google News: Lino Oviedo
- The Peninsula: Infighting in Paraguay Poll Court Worries OAS (April 13, 2008)
- BBC News: Oviedo Set for Paraguay Poll Bid (October 31, 2007)
- "Paraguay's Supreme Court has quashed a 10-year prison sentence imposed on the country's ex-army chief, Lino Oviedo, for attempting a coup in 1996."
- VOA News: Paraguayan High Court Annuls Former General's Coup Conviction (October 31, 2007)
