ABRAnews Open the whole story. Sign in
World

Paraguay's Senate removes president over bank collapse, and prosecutors question him

Santiago Peña, who denies wrongdoing, was replaced by Vice President Pedro Alliana after Ueno Bank's collapse locked nearly 3 million people out of savings.

Santiago Peña in 2026
Santiago Peña in 2026. Photo: 總統府, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
12 news outlets reported this · Little coverage from conservative outlets
Liberal7 outletsOusted president faces prosecutors over Ueno collapseCenter3 outletsPeña's fall and Alliana's sudden rise to powerConservative2 outletsPeña's fall from power and public anger
ABRAnews EditorialPublished 1 min readMoney and daily life
Overview

Paraguay's Senate voted on Friday to remove President Santiago Peña from office over the collapse of Ueno Bank. All 44 senators present backed removal. Regulators had taken over the digital bank three days earlier, leaving nearly 3 million people unable to reach their savings.

Peña leveraged his political clout to steer hundreds of millions of public dollars to the bank, while regulators overlooked Ueno's risky insider lending, lawmakers say. Peña denies wrongdoing. He offered to resign on Thursday, but Congress did not accept the offer and went ahead with impeachment, which leaves him open to prosecution.

Peña and former central bank chief Carlos Carvallo were ordered arrested by prosecutors. Peña was placed under house arrest on Friday and, ABC News and La Opinión report, moved to a military base that night. On Saturday he was taken to the attorney general's office in Asunción for questioning.

Citing Reuters, Al Jazeera reports he faces charges of breach of trust and of administration for personal gain, and prosecutors seek pretrial detention for him and Carvallo. Vice President Pedro Alliana was sworn in as president on Friday and will serve until August 2028. The central bank reported on Saturday that 1.2 million Ueno customers had been partly or fully reimbursed for insured deposits.

Key figures
  • 44senators present, all voting to remove PeñaNew York Post
  • nearly 3 millioncustomers locked out of savings after Ueno was seizedABC News
  • 1.2 millionUeno customers reimbursed in part or in full, per the central bankABC News
  • more than $800 millionpublic money that fed Ueno's expansionNew York Post
  • $355 millionstate pension fund deposit at Ueno, beyond legal limits, per lawmakersNew York Post

Three sides of the story

7Liberal3Center2Conservative

12 news outlets reported this · Little coverage from conservative outlets

Tap a color or swipe sideways to switch sides.

Liberal7 outlets

Ousted president faces prosecutors over Ueno collapse

Al Jazeera leads with Peña being charged after a morning of questioning, citing Reuters for breach of trust and administration for personal gain. It adds that prosecutors seek pretrial detention for him and Carvallo, and notes that Alliana is also under investigation. ABC News opens with Peña facing prosecutors, describing drone footage of him arriving in a black SUV, not handcuffed.

It quotes opposition Sen. Yolanda Paredes: "He must go, but not home. He must go to a maximum-security prison." It also reports a planned indefinite teachers' strike on Monday.

La Opinión, in a Spanish-language report, explains the maneuver behind the removal. Colorado Party deputies left the chamber, quorum was lost, and the resignation fell. It counts 44 votes in favor and one absence, and calls Peña the second president removed this way after Fernando Lugo in 2012.

CBS News carries the Associated Press wire report on his house arrest, the accusations of breach of trust, influence peddling, and misusing a public post for private benefit, the gravest of which can bring up to 10 years in prison, and a ride-hailing app that shut down, leaving 3,000 drivers without work.

Center3 outlets

Peña's fall and Alliana's sudden rise to power

Newsweek's headline says Peña was "impeached and immediately arrested." It says the bank's collapse cut off access to money for nearly 3 million people, about 60 percent of the nation's adult population, and notes that stepping down might have protected him from detention. It quotes Prosecutor Silvia González, via Radio Ñanduti, saying Peña "voluntarily allowed officers to enter" his home.

Newsweek reports that questioning of him is set for Saturday, concerning alleged misappropriation of funds, influence peddling and breach of trust. Euronews leads with Alliana's swearing-in, saying he was "catapulted" from vice president to the presidency. It profiles him as a former national team basketball player, a former governor and Colorado Party leader who rose with the backing of former president Horacio Cartes.

Cartes and Alliana later fell out, and Alliana said loyalty should not be confused with "blind obedience." Euronews says lawmakers moved against Peña but rejected proceedings against Alliana. It adds that, according to prosecutors, Peña is due to be questioned on Saturday about alleged breach of trust, influence peddling and misappropriated money.

Conservative2 outlets

Peña's fall from power and public anger

The New York Post runs the AP wire report, opening with the ousted president's house arrest on suspicion of breach of trust and influence peddling. It describes crowds outside Congress waving flags and chanting "Dictatorship never again!" as the verdict came. Protesters also chanted "Santi Peña to Tacumbú!", a reference to the capital's main prison.

The report quotes an electricity company worker, Yinal López, who calls it "an enormous betrayal of trust." It also quotes political theory professor José Tomás Sánchez on the central bank relaxing its controls under Peña, and Miguel Carter of the research center DEMOS on Peña's attempt to displace his mentor Cartes. It reports that Alliana is under investigation too, and that prosecutors in a separate case have charged 27 people, including Ueno founder Miguel Vázquez.

The Washington Times briefly reports that Peña was sent to the attorney general's office on Saturday for interrogation after Congress removed him. It adds that the Central Bank said it is working to reimburse hundreds of thousands of people shut out of their accounts.

What a side did not mention
Money and daily life

For savers, the central bank said on Saturday that insured deposits had been partly or fully repaid to 1.2 million Ueno customers. The central bank says deposits up to about $35,000 are insured, covering 97% of customers. Some depositors started getting funds back Thursday, first those with up to 10 million guaraníes (about $1,500). ABC News reports teachers plan an indefinite national strike starting Monday.

All sources: 22 articles from 12 outlets

Liberal (12)

Center (7)

Conservative (3)

Related
  1. Brazil's defeated presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro lands in Miami after leaving the country
  2. UN again condemns US embargo on Cuba, but support drops to 130 votes
  3. Paraguay's president resigns over a bank collapse, and lawmakers vote to impeach him
  4. Paraguay's Senate removes president over bank collapse, and prosecutors question himThis story
  5. El Salvador's president says troops destroyed Haitian gang's headquarters near Port-au-Prince