Paraguay: President Santiago Pena under house arrest over bank crisis

Paraguay’s Senate has ousted President Santiago Pena over the collapse of a major bank tied to his government. Millions of customers' accounts are frozen, with public pension and health care funds also tied up. Paraguay's Senate on Friday impeached President Santiago Pena over a banking crisis that left millions of people unable to access their deposits.

The move cleared the way for Vice President Pedro Alliana to succeed him. He will serve the rest of the presidential term, which ends in August 2028. Pena had already resigned on Thursday, but by impeaching and convicting him instead of accepting his resignation, senators stripped him of the lifetime Senate seat and immunity granted to former presidents, leaving him vulnerable to prosecution.

Following the Senate vote, prosecutors ordered the arrest of the ousted president alongside former central bank chief Carlos Carvallo as part of a criminal investigation. Officials later said Pena was placed under house arrest pending a decision by the public prosecutor's office on the final charges against him.