Grupo Cartes
Corporate brand
UnclaimedA Paraguayan family-controlled conglomerate with interests spanning tobacco, beverages, agriculture, livestock, banking, logistics, media and consumer services.
Last updated August 24, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile yet.
Overview
Grupo Cartes was a diversified Paraguayan business group associated with former Paraguayan president Horacio Cartes and the Cartes family. Its businesses developed across tobacco manufacturing and trading, beverages, agriculture, livestock, banking, logistics, transport, retail, hospitality, health and wellness, media, and related services. The group’s origins are generally traced to Livestock Sophia S.A., established by Horacio Cartes in October 1990, followed by the creation or incorporation of additional operating companies during the 1990s and 2000s. The group’s most prominent industrial asset was Tabacalera del Este S.A., commonly known as Tabesa, a cigarette manufacturer based in Hernandarias in Alto Paraná. Tabesa was established in the mid-1990s and became one of the group’s principal businesses. Company materials described it as a major Paraguayan cigarette producer and stated that it had captured a substantial share of a market previously dominated by Marlboro. Tobacco-related operations also included Tabacos del Paraguay, Habacorp’s cigar-trading activities, and Agrotabacalera of Paraguay, which supplied tobacco inputs. The group also developed beverage production and distribution businesses, including Bebidas del Paraguay and Distribuidora del Paraguay. Brands associated with those operations included Pulp and Maxi soft drinks, Puro Sol and Watt’s juices, Schneider beer, Fountain mineral water, Full Power and Battery energy drinks, and other beverages. Bebidas USA was established to market products under the Planet Pulp name in the United States. Agriculture and livestock formed another major part of the group’s portfolio. Businesses associated with Grupo Cartes included Ganadera Sophia, Chajhá, Ganadera Las Pampas, Agrocitrus del Paraguay and Agrotabacalera of Paraguay. Other reported holdings and affiliates included Banco Amambay, a financial institution in which the group had a significant role; Consignataria de Ganado; Paraguay Multimodal Transport, a logistics and transport company; Aerocentro; Sporting Life, a sporting-goods retailer; and La Misión, whose activities included a therapeutic center, restaurant and medical spa. The group also had media interests, including radio stations and television or multimedia operations identified with Popular, Montecarlo, HEi and Tropicalia. Grupo Cartes also participated in joint ventures with Chilean interests, including Bebidas del Paraguay with Compañía de las Cervecerías Unidas and Enex Paraguay with Enex. These relationships later attracted public attention after United States authorities designated Horacio Cartes as significantly corrupt and business partners considered the implications for their Paraguayan ventures. The group’s public profile became closely tied to Horacio Cartes’s political career. After a United States investigation, the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control announced in January 2023 that it was prohibiting financial transactions in U.S. dollars involving Cartes and his enterprise, citing alleged corruption-related conduct before, during and after his presidency. In March 2023, Horacio Cartes and his sister Sarah announced that they would leave and divest from the conglomerate. The stated restructuring involved transferring business shares to legal heirs as an advance on inheritance and having the resulting company groupings operate autonomously, alongside a change to Grupo Cartes’s brand and structure. The post-2023 status and precise ownership of each former business are not fully established in the supplied material.
History
Grupo Cartes emerged from the business activities of Horacio Cartes, a Paraguayan entrepreneur who later became president of Paraguay. According to company history cited in reference material, Cartes established Livestock Sophia S.A. in October 1990. The group subsequently expanded through tobacco, trading, agriculture, livestock, distribution and financial services rather than through a single operating company. A central turning point was the formation of Tabacalera del Este S.A., or Tabesa, in the mid-1990s. Based in Hernandarias in Alto Paraná, the cigarette manufacturer became the best-known industrial company linked to the group. Tabesa’s stated founders included Horacio Cartes, José Ángel Ávalos, Marcelino Zárate Riquelme, Pedro Knight and César Cabral. By 2013, reference material described the company as employing approximately 1,150 people and holding a significant position in Paraguay’s cigarette market. The tobacco platform was broadened in 1999 with Tabacos del Paraguay, a Cuban-cigar business, and Habacorp S.R.L., a trading company supporting cigar activities. Agrotabacalera of Paraguay was added in 2002 to supply cigarette tobacco and other raw materials. The group’s agricultural and livestock base also expanded during the 1990s and 2000s. Chajhá and Ganadera Las Pampas were identified as additions in 1999, while Consignataria S.A. joined in 2004. Agrocitrus del Paraguay, a citrus operation located in Moisés Bertoni in Caazapá Department, was added in 2006. These businesses complemented the original livestock operation and connected the conglomerate to farming, agricultural inputs, produce and cattle marketing. Beverage production and distribution became another important platform. Distribuidora del Paraguay was added in 2001 and distributed a broad range of beverages, including Pulp and Maxi soft drinks, Puro Sol and Watt’s juices, Schneider beer, Fountain water, Full Power sports drinks and Battery energy drinks. The group also formed Bebidas del Paraguay with Chilean beverage company Compañía de las Cervecerías Unidas. A related United States operation, Bebidas USA, marketed products under the Planet Pulp name. During the 2000s, Grupo Cartes diversified beyond its core agricultural, tobacco and beverage activities. Banco Amambay gave the group a presence in banking; reference material reported that the bank held about 2.8 percent of Paraguay’s deposits in June 2012 and ranked thirteenth by loan size at that time. Paraguay Multimodal Transport was added in 2009 as a logistics business, while Sporting Life entered the sporting-goods retail sector in the same year. In 2010, La Misión added activities in medical treatment, restaurant and catering services, and beauty or wellness care. Other listed interests included Aerocentro, Paraguay Soccer, Fundación Ñande Paraguay and several media outlets, including Popular, Montecarlo, HEi and Tropicalia. The group also developed a philanthropic presence. The Ramón T. Cartes Foundation was opened on 28 July 2008. It supported the Arambe Education Center, which opened the following year to serve children from economically disadvantaged families. By 2013, reference material described Grupo Cartes as employing approximately 3,500 people across its businesses. Its scale and the political prominence of its principal owner made the conglomerate an important subject in Paraguayan public life. That relationship became especially consequential in 2023, when the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control announced restrictions on financial operations in U.S. dollars involving Horacio Cartes and his enterprise, citing alleged corruption-related conduct. Later that year, Horacio Cartes and Sarah Cartes announced their departure and divestment from the conglomerate. They stated that the group’s structure and branding would change from 24 March 2023 and that business shares would be transferred to legal heirs, with the resulting companies operating independently. The supplied sources do not establish a complete post-restructuring ownership map or confirm the present operating status of every former Grupo Cartes business.
- 2023
U.S. financial restrictions and announced divestment
[1]The United States announced restrictions involving Horacio Cartes and his enterprise, followed by the Cartes family’s announcement of divestment and structural separation of the businesses.
- 2013
Group employment reported at approximately 3,500
[1]Reference material described Grupo Cartes as employing about 3,500 people across its businesses.
- 2010
La Misión joins the portfolio
[1]La Misión added therapeutic, restaurant, catering, medical-spa and beauty-related activities.
- 2009
Retail, logistics and education initiatives develop
[1]Sporting Life and Paraguay Multimodal Transport were added, while the foundation supported the opening of the Arambe Education Center.
- 2008
Ramón T. Cartes Foundation opens
[1]The Ramón T. Cartes Foundation was inaugurated as the group’s named philanthropic organization.
- 2006
Citrus operations are added
[1]Agrocitrus del Paraguay joined the group, extending its agricultural portfolio into citrus production.
- 2004
Livestock consignment business joins the group
[1]Consignataria S.A. became part of the conglomerate’s cattle and agricultural trading activities.
- 2002
Agrotabacalera is added
[1]Agrotabacalera of Paraguay was added in Choré, San Pedro, to provide tobacco inputs for cigarette production.
- 2001
Distribution platform is added
[1]Distribuidora del Paraguay joined the group and distributed beverages and other consumer products.
- 1999
Tobacco trading and agricultural businesses expand
[1]Tabacos del Paraguay, Habacorp, Chajhá and Ganadera Las Pampas were added to the group’s tobacco, trading, agricultural and livestock activities.
Products and positioning
A broad Paraguayan family-controlled conglomerate built around tobacco, beverages, agriculture and livestock, with additional financial, logistics, retail, service and media interests.
Tobacco products · 1994
Tabesa cigarettes
Tabacalera del Este S.A., generally known as Tabesa, was the conglomerate’s principal cigarette manufacturer. Established in Hernandarias in the mid-1990s, it became a major Paraguayan tobacco operation and was described in company material as taking substantial market share from Marlboro.
Soft drinks
Pulp and Maxi
Pulp and Maxi were soft-drink brands distributed through Distribuidora del Paraguay and associated with the group’s beverage platform. The supplied material does not establish their current ownership or market status after the 2023 restructuring.
Juices
Puro Sol and Watt's
Puro Sol and Watt’s were juice brands included in the beverage distribution portfolio associated with Distribuidora del Paraguay.
Beer and bottled water
Schneider and Fountain
Schneider beer and Fountain mineral water were among the beverage products distributed through the group’s Paraguayan network.
Sports and energy drinks
Full Power and Battery
Full Power sports drinks and Battery energy drinks formed part of the group’s functional-beverage offering. The reference material also identifies Battery with the Estrella de Oro designation.
Soft drinks
Planet Pulp
Planet Pulp was the name used by Bebidas USA to sell associated beverage products in the United States.
Agriculture and livestock · 1990
Livestock and citrus operations
The group’s agricultural portfolio included cattle operations, tobacco cultivation, citrus production and related agricultural trading. Named businesses included Ganadera Sophia, Ganadera Las Pampas, Chajhá, Agrocitrus and Agrotabacalera.
Banking
Banco Amambay services
Banco Amambay represented Grupo Cartes’s principal identified banking interest. In 2012 it was reported to hold approximately 2.8 percent of Paraguayan deposits, although the supplied material does not establish its ownership or status after the restructuring.
Controversies
2023
U.S. corruption designation and financial sanctions
The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control announced restrictions on financial operations in U.S. dollars involving Horacio Cartes and his enterprise after an investigation that attributed corruption-related conduct to him before, during and after his presidency.
Controversy over Quiñenco-linked business discussions
A visit by Quiñenco-linked executives to Horacio Cartes’s residence became controversial after the United States designated Cartes as significantly corrupt. The visit was connected with discussions concerning the future of joint ventures involving Bebidas del Paraguay and Enex Paraguay.
Marketing campaigns
- 2008Ramón T. Cartes Foundation and Arambe Education Center
Paraguay
The Ramón T. Cartes Foundation funded social initiatives, including the Arambe Education Center, which opened in 2009 to support children from economically disadvantaged families.
Outcome. The education center was established and operated as a philanthropic initiative associated with the Cartes family.
Brand decisions
2023
Divestment and autonomous company-group restructuringStrategyBackground
The announcement followed U.S. restrictions affecting Horacio Cartes and his enterprise and heightened scrutiny of the relationship between the family’s business interests and Cartes’s political career.
Action taken
Horacio Cartes and Sarah Cartes announced that they would leave and divest from Grupo Cartes. Shares were to be transferred to legal heirs as an advance on inheritance, with the resulting companies operating autonomously and the group’s brand and structure changing from 24 March 2023.
Aftermath
The supplied sources do not provide a complete ownership chart or confirm the continuing use of the Grupo Cartes name after the restructuring.
- Creation of joint ventures in beverages and energyStrategy
Background
Grupo Cartes sought to extend its portfolio through partnerships with Chilean Quiñenco interests.
Action taken
The group participated in Bebidas del Paraguay with Compañía de las Cervecerías Unidas and in Enex Paraguay with Enex.
Aftermath
The partnerships later became controversial after U.S. sanctions and corruption-related designations involving Horacio Cartes.
- Quiñenco — Executives associated with Quiñenco visited Cartes to discuss the future of the joint ventures after the U.S. designation.
Sources1 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/grupo-cartes · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled