The bank that withheld millions of dollars and ousted the president!!
Afrasianet - The lower house of parliament voted unanimously to trigger the president's political impeachment warrant, paving the way for him to be tried before the ordinary judiciary as a prime suspect of collusion and conflict of interest.
The collapse of the digital Ueno Bank scandal has forced Paraguay's conservative president, Santiago Peña, to resign and face historic unanimous impeachment proceedings in parliament.
The bank's resounding collapse was an unprecedented financial and social shock, after it was found that the political administration was involved in the exploitation of influence and the passage of suspicious transactions that froze the savings of about 3 million citizens, representing about 60% of the country's adult population.
The dramatic ouster dashed the ambitions of one of US President Donald Trump's most prominent allies in Latin America, just weeks after Washington hailed him as a strategic partner and a unique model in the region.
The crisis began to take a dangerous turn when Paraguay's central bank announced that it was taking control of Bank Ueno as a result of a sharp drop in the bank's solvency index below half of the legal minimum.
Subsequent regulatory investigations revealed a systematic pattern of high-risk loans granted to related parties to the bank's owners and shareholders without adequate collateral.
Financial examination reports showed that the bank made excessive and suspicious transfers worth millions of dollars to subsidiaries of the bank's dominant holding groups.
The legal pathways focused on examining banking supervision mechanisms, and determining how to deposit some $850 million of public funds, national pension funds and major energy institutions into a structurally fragile bank
The intervention sparked panic as soon as the bank's digital applications and payment cards were shut down, depriving millions of depositors and retirees of access to their daily savings and pensions.
Thousands of demonstrators including retirees, workers and students poured into the streets around the bank building, raising slogans demanding the immediate return of their money and accountability for the "organized theft". Heavy police forces clashed with angry crowds, using tear gas and water cannons to prevent the storming of the sovereign headquarters.
During the stormy session, Alejandra Aquilera, a member of the ruling party's House of Representatives, justified the president's abandonment: "In the face of these serious accusations, I cannot pretend not to know; we have more than 3 million citizens who have been harmed, and today they feel that they have been betrayed, fraudulent, and deceitful."
The Prosecutor General of the Republic of Paraguay, Emiliano Rolón Fernández, has issued an urgent order to open three separate criminal cases to investigate the circumstances of the bank's collapse.
The legal pathways focused on examining banking supervision mechanisms and determining how some $850 million of public funds, national pension funds and major energy institutions could be deposited within a structurally fragile bank.
Security authorities arrested eight of the bank's top executives, including founder Miguel Vázquez and chairman Juan Manuel Gustaly, with 27 bank officials formally charged with breach of trust and attempted fraud.
President Santiago Peña posted a video on social media announcing his resignation, describing the moment as "one of the most difficult periods of his life."
The young economist, who came to power in 2023, tried to calm the street by passing an extraordinary law that would return most of the money of small depositors within five working days, but the move came too late.
In his farewell message to his compatriots, Peña said, "I have made the decision to resign from the presidency with the intention of the stability of our country, social peace and the protection of our democratic institutions. I would like to apologize to the people if I have ever fallen short, it was never my intention to betray the trust you have placed in me."
Peña reiterated his commitment to undergo the parliamentary trial proceedings in the Senate, saying, "I will provide all the information that is required of me. Citizens deserve to know the full truth, without cover-up, without anyone being above the law."
The lower house of parliament voted unanimously to activate the political impeachment warrant rather than accept the voluntary resignation.
The lawmakers aim to strip Peña of his parliamentary immunity and future Senate seat, paving the way for him to be tried before the ordinary judiciary as a prime suspect of collusion and conflict of interest.
The dramatic shift came after the conservative Colorado Party lifted the political cover on the president after the party's leader, former President Horacio Cartes, and Congressman Basilio Núñez withdrew their support for him in a swift political maneuver to save the party from street wrath.
The ouster was a major blow to U.S. diplomacy in Latin America, where Peña was considered one of the closest regional partners of President Donald Trump's administration.
The outgoing president was one of the few leaders to attend Trump's second inauguration, and he was repeatedly praised by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who presented Paraguay as a model of alliance and strategic resilience.
This overwhelming support was reflected in Paraguay's adherence to formal diplomatic recognition of Taiwan as the only country in South America to do so in line with Washington's political vision, despite the high trade and economic tensions it has cost with China.
Vice President Pedro Alyana is poised to formally take over under the constitution to lead the country for the remainder of his presidential term.
However, the political climate does not appear to be ripe for imminent stability, as there are strong suspicions about Illiana himself's involvement in providing political facilitation to the collapsed Ueno Bank.
