Paraguay police raid home of ousted former President Santiago Pena

Paraguayan police raided the home of ousted former President Santiago Pena on Sunday, Al Jazeera reported. Pena faces criminal charges related to financial crimes following the collapse of digital lender Ueno Bank. The raid followed his removal from office on Friday, as FTMQ News reported earlier. [1][10]

The downfall of Ueno Bank froze access to the savings of nearly three million customers, Al Jazeera reported. That figure represents almost half of Paraguay's total population of 6.5 million people. Al Jazeera noted that the former president, an ally of United States President Donald Trump who assumed office in 2023, has denied any wrongdoing. [1]

The central bank of Paraguay shut down Ueno Bank on November 2, 2026, after its capital adequacy ratio dropped below half of the legal minimum, as FTMQ News reported earlier. The shutdown locked customer accounts and left approximately 380 million dollars in public social security funds awaiting recovery. The country's Senate later voted 44 to 0, with one abstention, to impeach Pena, leading to the swearing-in of Vice President Pedro Alliana as Paraguay's 53rd president. [10][11]

Paraguay achieved its independence from Spain in 1811 and relies heavily on an agricultural economy focused on soybeans, beef, and cotton. The collapse of the digital bank has triggered widespread protests, with Al Jazeera reporting that the incident has plunged the nation into its deepest political and economic crisis in recent years. [1][9]