Paraguay Senate Debates Impeachment of President Santiago Peña

The Paraguayan Senate began a session this Thursday to evaluate the impeachment of President Santiago Peña. The move follows the Chamber of Deputies' vote to remove the leader from office amid a deepening banking crisis.

The crisis was triggered by the closure of Ueno Bank last Tuesday. The Central Bank of Paraguay initiated the liquidation of the institution due to a solvency deficit caused by loans granted to companies linked to the ownership group.

Santiago Peña was a shareholder of the controlling group until March of last year. The bank held approximately 850 million dollars in deposits, including funds from the Social Security Institute and a base of 3 million customers.

The opposition has formalized charges of conflict of interest and misappropriation of social security funds against the president. Lawmakers allege that there was regulatory manipulation and institutional cover-up by the Central Bank to favor the financial entity.

Peña stated on social media that those involved in the irregularities will answer to the courts. The government has also enacted a law to accelerate the return of funds to depositors affected by the bank's closure.