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Paraguay's new president, Nicanor Duarte, Monday appointed General Key Kanazawa to head the armed forces as part of an anti-corruption campaign. Kanazawa, a Paraguayan of Japanese descent, took the job formerly held by General Expedito Garrigoza. Duarte also changed the leadership of the army, navy and air force. The new defense minister, Carlos Romero, announced a broad restructuring and modernization of the armed forces. "We are going to modernize the army," he said. "We will eliminate the intelligence service, which is a useless organization. There is no type of crime that has that was not committed" under outgoing president Luis Gonzalez Macchi. A judge ordered Gonzalez Macchi not to leave the country on suspicion he diverted 16 million dollars to a Citibank account in New York. Duarte, who took office Friday, has promised to fight widespread corruption in this South American country of 5.5 million people. Kanazawa, 53, is one of about 200,000 members of the Japanese-Paraguayan community, the bulk of which arrived after World War II. The appointment of Kanazawa sparked discontent early in Duarte's administration, government sources told AFP. Kanazawa was opposed by more senior officers, who will now be forced into retirement. Some middle-level officers remain loyal to their former leader, Lino Oviedo, now in self-imposed exile in Brazil. It was Kanazawa who led hooded commandos on an assault of Oviedo's home in 1997 to arrest him after the Colorado Party chose him as its presidential candidate. Then-president Juan Carlos Wasmosy had decreed a 30-day sentence for Oviedo for insubordination, although Oveido had been cashiered. After police failed to locate Oviedo, Wasmosy sent Kanazawa, who then headed the presidential guard. Oviedo supporters say Kanazawa was out to kill their leader. Kanazawa still faces criminal charges in the incident. Oviedo meanwhile is wanted in connection with the March 23, 1999, murder of Paraguayan vice president Luis Maria Argana and seven others. All rights reserved. Copyright 2003 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse. Quick Links
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