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Paraguay’s Senate voted unanimously with 44 senators in favor and one absent to remove President Santiago Peña from office on November 6 2026 after the lower house had done the same a day earlier according to Reuters. Senate President Basilio Núñez announced that Peña was found guilty of dereliction of duty following the fast-tracked proceedings. The impeachment prevents the ousted leader from claiming a lifetime Senate seat that would have granted him immunity as former presidents typically receive.
Authorities placed Peña under house arrest at his residence in Asunción minutes after the vote with prosecutors citing potential charges of breach of trust influence peddling and misappropriation of funds a Bloomberg report indicated. He is scheduled to appear before officials on Saturday for questioning prosecutor Silvia Margarita Gonzalez Vester said while eight former Ueno Bank executives have already been detained and an arrest warrant issued for ex-central bank chief Carlos Carvallo. Peña who until last year held shares in the bank’s parent company has denied any wrongdoing throughout the process.
The crisis erupted after regulators seized Ueno Bank earlier in the week leaving an estimated 2.9 million depositors or roughly 60 percent of the country’s adult population unable to access their savings The Guardian reported. Lawmakers accused Peña of steering hundreds of millions in public funds including $355 million from the social security institute into the lender beyond legal limits while overlooking risky practices. An Asuncion Times review placed the total public resources involved at approximately $900 million from entities such as the pension system Petropar and others.
Peña had submitted his resignation on November 5 in an attempt to retain certain privileges but Congress rejected it to pursue the misconduct charges instead a move that drew crowds of protesters to the streets some clashing with police. In a statement the former president said “I want to apologize to the people if I have failed them at any point. It was never my intention to betray the trust that they placed in me.” The events mark the second impeachment of a Paraguayan president since the return to democracy with Fernando Lugo removed in 2012 according to multiple accounts.
As a conservative leader and ally of US President Donald Trump Peña had promoted Paraguay as a stable investment destination before the banking scandal engulfed his administration an AS/COA analysis noted. His appointment of a former Ueno executive to oversee the central bank formed a key part of the conflict-of-interest allegations compiled by lawmakers. The rapid growth of the digital lender which served nearly half the population amplified the fallout when solvency failures forced its intervention.
Vice President Pedro Alliana was sworn in as president shortly after the Senate action with Senator Antonio Barrios assuming the vice presidency Reuters reported. The new leadership must now address widespread anger over frozen accounts and work to restore confidence in the financial system as investigations continue. Prosecutors are examining claims of manipulated oversight diverted pension resources and an institutional cover-up tied to the bank’s downfall.
