Estigarribia that gave the president sweeping executive powers. To strengthen his authority, on February 4, 1941, Morínigo removed the influential Colonel Peredes from the post of interior minister. On April 17, 1941, he suppressed a febrerista uprising by supporters of the February Revolution. On April 25, 1942, he banned the Liberal Party, accusing them of conspiring with the Bolivians and exiled Party's leaders. Morínigo's only remaining supporters were radicals from the Colorado Party and the Army. During his dictatorship he faced widespread resistance, including general strikes and military revolts, but he survived by maintaining the loyalty of the Paraguayan Army, which received 45% of the country's budget. Morínigo relied on the right-wing Colorado faction Guion Rojo (the "Red Banner"), led by Juan Natalico Gonzalez, as a paramilitary police force to intimidate febreristas and Liberals. Opposition newspapers were shut down and publishers exiled. Morínigo finally held presidential elections on February 15, 1943; he was the sole candidate. Pro-fascist sympathies Just as in other South American countries, pro-Nazi and pro-fascist sympathies at this time were quite strong in the society and among military officers. After it entered World War II in 1941, the United States tried to exert some pressure on Morínigo to limit the influence of Axis supporters. He kept Paraguay neutral for most of the war. He only officially declared war against the Axis in February 1945, without sending any soldiers to fight. A surge of German influence in the region and Argentina's pro-Axis leanings alarmed the United States, which sought to wean Paraguay away from German and Argentine influence. At the same time, the United States sought to enhance its presence in the region and pursued close cooperation with Brazil, Argentina's traditional rival. To this end, the United States provided to Paraguay sizable amounts of funds and supplies under the Lend-Lease Agreement, provided loans for public works, and gave technical assistance in agriculture and health care. The United States Department of State approved of closer ties between Brazil and Paraguay and especially supported Brazil's offer to finance a road project designed to reduce Paraguay's dependence on Argentina. United States protests over German and Argentine activities in Paraguay fell on deaf ears. While the United States defined its interests in terms of resisting the fascist threat, Paraguayan officials believed their best interests lay in economic expediency and were reluctant to antagonize Germany until the outcome of the war was no