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Paraguay opens criminal probe after US-backed review finds China-linked hackers in state systems

Paraguay's Fiscalía launched a criminal investigation on July 14 after the country's ICT ministry and the US Embassy jointly announced that multiple Chinese government-linked cyber threat actors, including the Flax Typhoon group identified in a 2024 review, had infiltrated Paraguayan state networks; China's Foreign Ministry denied the allegations

Courts·Shadow· active What They're Not Saying·The Quiet Shift ·5 takes · ·rbtfl upd Jul 16, 2026
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The split

The same story, as told by newsrooms in different countries. Their words, attributed and linked.

Argentina

Infobae

“El fiscal general Emiliano Rolón Fernández designó a la agente especializada en delitos informáticos Irma Llano para conducir las pesquisas iniciadas tras la denuncia formal del Ministerio de Tecnologías de la Información y Comunicación.”

Leading Argentine news site; reported the appointment of specialist prosecutor Irma Llano to lead the investigation, filed by the ICT minister after the joint US-Paraguay announcementread the original ↗

Argentina

TeleSemana

“El Ministerio de Tecnologías de la Información y Comunicación de Paraguay, en colaboración con el Gobierno de los Estados Unidos, reveló la infiltración en redes estatales de múltiples actores de ciberespionaje vinculados al gobierno chino.”

Latin American telecoms trade publication; provided the deepest context, including China's Flax Typhoon group, the 5G spectrum background, and China Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian's rebuttal urging Latin American leaders not to become instruments of US geopoliticsread the original ↗

Paraguay

ABC Color

“El fiscal general de la República, Emiliano Rolón, ordenó la apertura de una investigación por los supuestos hechos de acceso indebido a sistemas informáticos del Estado a raíz de una denuncia hecha por MITIC en conjunto con la Embajada de Estados Unidos que apunta a China.”

Paraguay's main daily; confirmed the Fiscalía opened the case after a joint MITIC-US Embassy complaint pointing to China, and noted the investigation was ordered with all necessary meansread the original ↗

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Summary

Paraguay's Fiscalía on July 14 opened a criminal investigation into alleged unlawful access to Paraguayan state computer systems, after the country's ICT ministry (MITIC) and US Embassy jointly announced that multiple Chinese government-linked cyber threat actors had infiltrated government networks. TeleSemana reported the disclosure also referenced a 2024 review that identified the Flax Typhoon group, a China-based espionage actor, inside Paraguayan systems. Fiscal General Emiliano Rolón Fernández designated specialist prosecutor Irma Llano to lead the probe. China's Foreign Ministry denied all allegations: spokesman Lin Jian said Washington uses cybersecurity as a political pretext to discredit Beijing and urged Latin American leaders not to become "instruments of US geopolitics."

The split

Paraguayan outlets (ABC Color, El Poder) covered the domestic legal procedure, focusing on who filed the complaint and who was appointed to investigate. Argentine and regional media (Infobae, TeleSemana) placed the story in the larger frame of US-China tech rivalry: TeleSemana highlighted the timing alongside Paraguay's 5G spectrum auctions, which already exclude vendors from countries with which Paraguay has no diplomatic relations. China's denial followed a pattern of dismissing similar attributions across Latin America. The cybersecurity director at MITIC told a local broadcaster that investigators have elements sufficient to attribute the intrusion to Chinese-affiliated actors.

By the numbers

  • 2 joint reviews: a 2024 bilateral review identifying Flax Typhoon, and a more recent review identifying additional actors
  • 1 specialist prosecutor, Irma Llano, designated to lead the criminal case
  • 2026-2030, the period of Paraguay's 5G spectrum expansion with Chinese vendor restrictions in place

Why it matters

Paraguay maintains formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan rather than the People's Republic of China, a position that gives the US-Paraguay security relationship unusual depth in the region. A confirmed intrusion into Paraguayan state networks by China-linked actors would add a new data point to a pattern of operations in Latin American countries that align with Taiwan or the US. The criminal investigation, if it produces a public record, could also become a template for how smaller states handle Chinese espionage attributions without direct military leverage.

What to watch

  • Whether Paraguay's Fiscalía issues formal charges or releases technical evidence
  • China's bilateral response: any diplomatic protests or retaliatory measures from Beijing
  • Whether other Latin American countries facing similar 5G restriction pressure see parallel cyber disclosures

The briefing, by email