In brief
Al Jazeera reports that Santiago Pena was arrested and removed from office after a vote by 44 of Paraguay’s 45‑member Senate, amid a scandal involving the collapsed Ueno Bank. 52‑year‑old Conservative Pedro Alliana was sworn in as the new president that same day. The crisis highlights regulatory failures and alleged ties between Peña and the troubled lender.
In a dramatic turn of events on Friday, Paraguay’s President Santiago Pena was arrested and removed from office after a showdown between him and the country’s Senate, as reported by Al Jazeera.
The 44‑to‑1 Senate vote forced the 52‑year‑old Peña out of power, following a banking scandal that saw the Ueno Bank collapse under the central bank’s scrutiny.
Following his removal, prosecutors placed Peña under house arrest on suspicion of breach of trust and other crimes. The same court issued an arrest warrant for former central‑bank chief Carlos Carvallo, who resigned earlier that week after an investigation into the bank’s oversight failure.
Al Jazeera noted that the collapse of Ueno Bank, which had grown into Paraguay’s fifth‑largest bank with $800 million in public money, left roughly three million clients—about two‑thirds of the country’s adult population—unable to access their accounts and pension funds.
Pena had been identified as a shareholder of Ueno’s parent company in 2023, though he claimed to have divested his shares in early 2025, according to Al Jazeera.
Pena released a statement on social media, writing:
I take my leave with gratitude, while fully acknowledging the anguish of those who are currently awaiting answers.
Prior to Peña’s arrest, Al Jazeera reported that 52‑year‑old Conservative politician Pedro Alliana was sworn in as Paraguay’s 53rd president, taking the oath of office on the same day as the impeachment proceedings concluded.
Alliana’s inauguration marked a high‑profile transition amid concerns about regulatory failures and the alleged ties between the former president and the collapsed lender.
