Paraguayan Congress Impeaches President Santiago Peña After Resignation Amid Bank Collapse

Paraguay's lower house voted 78-0 on Thursday to impeach President Santiago Peña, just minutes after he posted a video announcing his resignation. The impeachment motion moves the case to the Senate, where a two-thirds majority is required for a conviction and removal from office.

Peña, a close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, said he was stepping down to preserve "the stability of our country, social peace and the need to preserve our democratic institutions." He added, "I also want to apologize to the people if I have failed them at any point. It was never my intention to betray the trust they placed in me."

The vote came amid three days of protests in Asunción as depositors, retirees and workers seek to recover savings, wages and pensions frozen after the seizure of Ueno Bank, a digital lender that had grown to serve more than half of the adult population.

Ueno Bank, which held roughly $800 million in public deposits, was seized after regulators found risky, poorly documented loans to companies linked to its owners and a capital shortfall below legal requirements. The central bank announced plans to transfer customer accounts to other banks and to liquidate the remaining assets.

Authorities have detained eight senior Ueno executives and charged 27 individuals with offenses including breach of trust and attempted fraud. Interim central bank president Pedro Acosta Bernal said the banking system remains sound and that efforts to repay depositors and open new accounts for about 280,000 affected customers are underway.

Protesters gathered outside the Labor Ministry and in the capital demanding the return of their money and the resignation of officials they hold responsible for the crisis.

Congress is expected to formally accept Peña's resignation later Thursday, paving the way for Vice President Pedro Alliana to assume the presidency for the remainder of the term through August 2028.