Page "History of Paraguay" Paragraph 109

It is no exaggeration to say that Moríñigo headed a pro-Axis regime.

Large numbers of Paraguayan military officers and government officials were openly sympathetic to the Axis.

Among these officials was the national police chief, who named his son Adolfo Hirohito after the best-known Axis leaders.

By 1941, the official newspaper, El País, had adopted an overtly pro-German stance.

At the same time, the government strictly controlled pro-Allied labor unions.

Police cadets wore swastikas and Italian insignia on their uniforms.

The December 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and Germany's declaration of war against the United States gave the United States the leverage it needed, however, to force Moríñigo to commit himself publicly to the Allied cause.

Moríñigo officially severed diplomatic relations with the Axis countries in 1942, although he did not declare war against Germany until February 1945.

Nonetheless, Moríñigo continued to maintain close relations with the heavily German-influenced Argentine military throughout the war and provided a haven for Axis spies and agents.