Paraguay Senate Removes President Peña in Bank Collapse Trial
Paraguay's Senate unanimously found President Santiago Peña guilty of malfeasance in office after the collapse of Ueno Bank. Prosecutors placed him under house arrest, and Vice President Pedro Alliana was sworn in to serve out the term until August 2028.
The Paraguay Senate removed President Santiago Peña from office in an impeachment trial over the collapse of Ueno Bank, and prosecutors then placed him under house arrest. Senators unanimously found him guilty of malfeasance in office, according to the Senate's website.
Ueno Bank was a U.S.-owned digital lender with ties to the Paraguayan government. Its failure has left millions of people across the country without access to their money.
Peña is one of Washington's closest allies in the region. He was also a shareholder in Ueno Bank.
What lawmakers alleged
Peña was known as a pro-market leader focused on making it easier to do business in Paraguay. Legislators said he put state assets at risk and benefitted himself through his connection to the bank. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Prosecutors later accused him of a breach of trust, among other charges. Peña appeared before prosecutors the morning after the Senate vote.
He announced his resignation before the vote, but lawmakers refused to accept it and pressed ahead with impeachment. The last Paraguayan president ousted from office was Fernando Lugo in 2012.
"I want to apologize to the Paraguayan people if I have failed you," Peña said in a speech posted to social media.
The bank's failure
Ueno Bank served about 3 million customers, more than half of Paraguay's adult population. It said more than a million people opened bank accounts for the first time through its services, which included generous cash back offers on groceries.
Paraguay's central bank said it seized control of the bank because its solvency ratio no longer met legal standards. That ratio is an assessment of a company's long-term financial viability.
Protests erupted across Asunción, the capital, after the seizure. Demonstrators burned an image of Peña at the main square near the National Congress on November 5, 2026.
Alliana takes over
Vice President Pedro Alliana was sworn in as president and will serve out the rest of Peña's term until August 2028. In a speech after taking office, he said he would take action to compensate people whose money was lost in the bank's collapse.
