President Peña impeached… Paraguay Senate impeaches over Ueno Bank scandal

Paraguay’s Senate removed President Santiago Peña from office on Wednesday over “negligence in duties” tied to the Ueno Bank crisis, after the Chamber of Deputies approved the impeachment motion 78-0 on Tuesday; the Senate rejected Peña’s request for a 72-hour extension of his defense preparation, and the vote was unanimous among those present, though the official tally did not state attendance. Peña did not appear at the hearing, and his lawyers argued the impeachment filing cited no specific violated law and shifted responsibilities belonging to other institutions, including the Central Bank of Paraguay (BCP), onto the president. Vice President Pedro Alliana assumed the presidency the same day. The removal matters because it puts Paraguay’s handling of the Ueno Bank fallout—and the BCP’s regulatory role—under new leadership. What to watch next is whether Alliana’s administration changes the response to the Ueno Bank situation and how the BCP’s oversight is reviewed.