Paraguay Police Lob Tear Gas at Party for U.S. Envoy

ASUNCION, Paraguay —  Police blocked guests on their way to a pro-democracy reception honoring U.S. Ambassador Clyde D. Taylor and lobbed tear gas into the midst of the garden festivities, the U.S. Embassy said Tuesday.

Taylor, who has repeatedly clashed with President Alfredo Stroessner’s government, later left the site under escort of U.S. security personnel. The crowd dispersed, and there were no arrests or serious injuries reported.

Witnesses said diplomats from Argentina, France and West Germany were among about 35 guests who were tear-gassed at the Monday night reception, sponsored by the opposition group Women for Democracy at a private home outside Asuncion. They said police prevented another 300 guests from attending.

Anti-Government Chants

The police took action after the crowd began singing and chanting anti-government slogans, the witnesses said.

“We find it inexplicable that police have thrown tear-gas grenades at a social gathering where police permitted the entry of diplomats,” a U.S. Embassy statement said.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Charles Redman also condemned the attack.

“The ambassador has been subjected to the same attempted intimidation practiced by the Paraguayan authorities against their own citizens who seek to exercise their rights of freedom of assembly and expression,” Redman told reporters. Officials said a formal U.S. protest is planned.

Paraguayan government officials had no immediate comment on the incident.

Unauthorized Gathering

However, officers said they were ordered to the residence because the gathering of the women’s group had not been authorized by the government.

Paraguay has been under the rule of Gen. Stroessner since 1954. Taylor, a frequent critic of press censorship and dictatorial government methods in Paraguay, has been repeatedly threatened with expulsion by high-ranking Paraguay officials.

Miguel Angel Martinez, a member of the banned Radical Liberal Authentic Party who attended the reception, said Taylor described the incident as “a direct attack on my office.”

The U.S. Embassy statement said the guests at the reception heard “chants from persons two blocks from the house who had not been allowed inside. . . . A half-hour later, police looking over the wall of the garden identified persons in the garden, among them Ambassador Taylor and his wife. Minutes later, they threw gas into the garden.

“Nobody advised the ambassador on the legal motives for prohibiting the entry of the other guests. Nobody gave an explanation on the motives as to why they threw gas into the house.”

Taylor, who was not available for comment, reportedly suffered temporary eye irritation from the fumes.