‹ Back

Toggle Daily

Paraguay's lawmakers remove President Santiago Peña, who is arrested minutes later

November 7, 2026

BBC reports that Peña was arrested on November 6 minutes after lawmakers, including from his own party, unanimously voted to remove him from office following the collapse earlier this week of Ueno Bank, which has links to his private business interests. Peña, who until last year held shares in the company that owned the bank, has denied any wrongdoing.

Al Jazeera reports that on November 2, Paraguay’s central bank decided to put Ueno bank into resolution – the strongest action it can take short of placing the bank into liquidation – after finding that its solvency ratio, a measure of its capital against its risk-weighted assets, had dropped to less than half of the legal requirement. In 1995, the central bank was forced to close Bancopar, which had severe liquidity problems and had also practised insider lending to companies linked to the bank’s owners. The bank had grown rapidly since launching in 2021, Reuters reports.

BBC reports that Peña was arrested on November 6 minutes after lawmakers, including from his own party, unanimously voted to remove him from office following the collapse earlier this week of Ueno Bank, which has links to his private business interests. Ousted Paraguayan President Santiago Peña was placed under house arrest on suspicion of breach of trust and influence peddling, among other charges Friday, shortly after the Senate removed him from office over the collapse of a government-linked bank that locked nearly half the country’s 6 million people out of their savings, New York Post reports. Peña, who was one of US president Donald Trump’s main allies in the region, had tried to resign on Thursday in an attempt to retain the special jurisdiction afforded to former presidents – who become senators for life in Paraguay – but lawmakers did not accept his resignation, leaving him subject to the ordinary courts, The Guardian reports. Soon after taking office, Peña appointed Carlos Carvallo Spalding, a former CEO of Ueno, head of the country’s central bank.

CBS News reports that Peña was ordered to remain at one of his homes in Asunción until he appears before prosecutors Saturday morning on charges of breach of trust, influence peddling and using public office for personal gain, the most serious of which carry up to 10 years in prison. Peña was ordered to appear at the prosecutor's office on Saturday morning, Reuters reports. Paraguay's Senate voted to remove Santiago Peña for misconduct in office, making him the second president ousted by impeachment since the end of Gen. Alfredo Stroessner's 35-year dictatorship in 1989, CBS News reports. However, the Senate convened a rare session on November 6 to consider Pena’s political future, opting to move forward with efforts to remove him from office, Al Jazeera reports. Paraguay's president impeached and under house arrest after bank collapse, BBC reports. Paraguay’s president impeached amid bank collapse crisis, Al Jazeera reports. Peña, who until last year held shares in the company that owned the bank, has denied any wrongdoing, BBC reports.

According to New York Post, José Tomás Sánchez said, “Under Peña, the central bank began to lose credibility, lose neutrality and then relax all its control mechanisms to favor the business group that had Ueno Bank as one of its pillars”.

Al Jazeera reports that on November 2, Paraguay’s central bank decided to put Ueno bank into resolution – the strongest action it can take short of placing the bank into liquidation – after finding that its solvency ratio, a measure of its capital against its risk-weighted assets, had dropped to less than half of the legal requirement. In 1995, the central bank was forced to close Bancopar, which had severe liquidity problems and had also practised insider lending to companies linked to the bank’s owners. The bank had grown rapidly since launching in 2021, Reuters reports. The bank sponsored Paraguay’s national football team and its name was plastered across the country’s main stadium, Al Jazeera reports. The digital bank managed $800m of public funds, including about $380m invested by Paraguay’s state pension and health fund, according to data from the Central Bank of Paraguay. Al Jazeera reports that three more banks also failed because of risky practices and poor oversight. Ueno was seized before dawn November 3, New York Post reports. In this case, Ueno had loaned $146m to companies tied to its owner, Grupo Vasquez, which has links to Paraguay’s president, Al Jazeera reports.

According to CBS News, the state power company says $21 million in loans from the Inter-American Development Bank and Taiwan, earmarked for public works, is trapped at the bank. Santiago Peña was detained minutes after he was impeached by Congress, as protesters took to the streets demanding answers after the suspension of the Ueno bank, The Guardian reports. Santiago Peña is being investigated about allegations he used his political influence to favour a bank that expanded exponentially under his government and was suspended this week after irregularities.

Still developing

According to CBS News, the state power company says $21 million in loans from the Inter-American Development Bank and Taiwan, earmarked for public works, is trapped at the bank. Santiago Peña was detained minutes after he was impeached by Congress, as protesters took to the streets demanding answers after the suspension of the Ueno bank, The Guardian reports. Santiago Peña is being investigated about allegations he used his political influence to favour a bank that expanded exponentially under his government and was suspended this week after irregularities.

How settled the reporting is

Reported 93% · Contested 0% · Developing 7%

Sources

Toggle read the full reports of all 6 outlets counted on this event.