Paraguay's Ministerio Público (Public Prosecutor's Office) ordered the detention of former president Santiago Peña just hours after the Senate removed him from office on Friday, November 6, over the collapse of Ueno Bank. Police detained him at his home, where he remained in custody while a criminal guarantees judge decides where he will be held during the proceedings.
Detention order No. 7
The order is set out in Detention Resolution No. 7, dated November 6, 2026, in criminal case 92/2026, for "lesión de confianza y otros" — breach of trust and other offences — according to the prosecutors' own statement. Prosecutor Cristian Benítez, who called the file "a difficult case", said Peña must remain "detained at his home" until he is handed over to the Unidad Especializada de Delitos Económicos y Anticorrupción, Paraguay's specialised economic crime and anti-corruption unit.
The same decision ordered the detention of Carlos Dagoberto Carvallo Spalding, a former official of the Banco Central del Paraguay (central bank), who will be held at a facility designated by the National Police command.
A two-day impeachment
The Senate voted to remove Peña for poor performance in office with 44 votes in favour, at the end of a process that lasted two days. The indictment brought four charges: conflict of interest, manipulation of regulatory supervision, diversion of pension funds, and institutional cover-up alongside the central bank — the only one Peña expressly denied.
On Thursday, after losing the backing of his own party, Peña had submitted his resignation, which was never formally accepted. His defence asked for more time to present its case, the Senate refused, and his advisers denounced a "violation of due process".
The removal has an effect beyond the office itself: it blocks his path to a lifetime Senate seat, which would have carried parliamentary immunity. Prosecutors have already opened cases against him.
A bank with three million customers
Ueno Bank closed its doors on Tuesday after the central bank moved to take it over. It held about 850 million dollars in public deposits — including funds from the Instituto de Previsión Social (IPS), Paraguay's social security institute — and had around three million customers.
Opposition deputy Rocío Vallejo put the losses at 1.2 billion dollars and warned that the figure keeps rising. The central bank's president resigned. Eight bank executives under arrest warrants were transferred on Friday to one of the country's main prisons to await trial.
Searches at the bank owner's property turned up nine luxury vehicles, valued at some 1.4 million dollars, along with a yacht and a plane.
Alliana finishes the term
Vice President Pedro Alliana, 52, took over the presidency to complete the term through 2028. The calendar explains part of the Senate's haste: beyond removing him from office, the vote leaves Peña without the immunity that would have come with a lifetime Senate seat, just as prosecutors move on the Ueno case.
With information from okdiario, SinEmbargo, La Nación and Infobae.
