Former president of Paraguay, Santiago Peña testifies after being placed under house arrest

The ousted president of Paraguay Santiago Peña left the military battalion in Asunción where he spent the night in detention and went to give a statement at the Public Ministry, in the center of the capital. He left the military installation around 11am this Saturday (7).

Peña had been detained at his residence, on the outskirts of the Paraguayan capital, on Friday night (6), after the Senate approved his impeachment. His dismissal crowns a turbulent week, marked by the fraud scandal involving Ueno Bank, the country's main digital bank, with 2.9 million customers — the country has around 7 million inhabitants.

Early in the morning, protesters who gathered near the property in protest led the country's authorities to transfer the politician to the Presidential School Regiment, which is located among other military units in the Ciudad Nueva neighborhood.

Based on the testimony of the now former president, the country's authorities must decide whether Peña will return to the military unit. Lawyer Macarena Chilavert, 38, protested in front of the Public Ministry building while Peña gave testimony. "Be afraid of the Paraguayan people, the people need to remember and punish these corrupt people in the next elections. I didn't vote for this economist, who they said was a genius and now he is detained," she said into a megaphone.

Public employee Carlos Sosa, 69, left his house, close to the public agency building, holding an improvised sign with the phrase "One by one, everyone must fall". "I'm outraged and I came to protest, because it's not just Peña, it's all of them from this group," he says. "I had deposits at Ueno, I left because I realized there was something strange there, it was a lot of money that no one knew where it came from."

In the wake of the Ueno Bank scandal, the Court is investigating the politician for alleged acts of damaging trust, influence peddling and self-serving administration. The investigation focused on Peña, a former investor in the bank's holding company and responsible for, in 2023, nominating Carlos Carvallo Spalding, then executive president of the company, as president of the Central Bank. Carvallo resigned from his position this week.

The president is accused of favoring the Vázquez Group, controller of Ueno, and of failing to monitor the Central Bank. Peña allegedly intervened improperly in the body that manages workers' pensions and health. Ueno Bank managed almost R$4.5 billion in public resources, including Social Security.

In addition to the testimony scheduled for this Saturday, the Public Ministry will investigate more evidence to determine the extent of Peña's responsibilities.