Prosecutors seek pretrial detention for Paraguay’s ousted president Peña over bank collapse

(7 Nov 2026) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: ASSOCIATED PRESS Asuncion, Paraguay - 7 November 2026 1. Officials preparing for a press conference at the Public Ministry 2. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Nancy Salomón, prosecutor: "There is suspicion of the commission of those punishable acts, and specifically, we are talking about acts of breach of trust and administration for personal gain. These punishable acts are related to Mr. Santiago Peña Palacios." 3. Various of journalists gathered outside the Public Ministry building 4. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Christian Benítez, prosecutor: ++SHOT ZOOMS IN++ "The Public Prosecutor's Office has requested preventive detention (of Peña). It is a jurisdictional decision. It has requested a general prohibition of selling and taxing. It has requested all precautionary measures aimed at ensuring that the assets of these individuals can eventually be subject to asset recovery so that the financial damages that may have been determined by the actions of each of these defendants can be recovered." 5. Protesters chant UPSOUND (Spanish) "Santi (Peña), filth, we want your head." 6. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Liliana Jara, protester: "We do not recognize (Pedro) Alliana, as president because he has to... They are all accomplices. All accomplices are part of the same clique. Yes, it's part of the same clique. The scheme continues." 7. Police vehicles outside the prosecutor's office. STORYLINE: Paraguay’s former president was taken to the attorney general’s office for questioning Saturday, just hours after being ousted by Congress over the collapse of a major bank. The Central Bank said it was working to compensate hundreds of thousands of people who were locked out of their accounts this week. Drone footage taken by Paraguay’s Telefuturo showed ousted President Santiago Peña arriving at the attorney general’s compound in a black SUV, escorted by police officers. He wore navy blue pants and a white shirt and was not handcuffed. Paraguayan prosecutors on Friday ordered the arrest of Peña and former Central Bank chief Carlos Carvallo as part of a criminal investigation into alleged breach of trust and other offenses tied to the collapse of Ueno Bank. Peña was transferred to a military base late Friday as hundreds of protesters gathered outside his home. The arrest order was issued soon after the Senate removed Peña from office in a unanimous vote. The verdict came just three days after regulators seized Ueno Bank, freezing nearly 3 million customers’ access to their savings and triggering a political crisis. Peña was replaced by Vice President Pedro Alliana, who began naming a new Cabinet Saturday. The Central Bank said Saturday that 1.2 million Ueno customers had received partial or full reimbursement of their insured deposits under Paraguayan law. Lawmakers accused Peña of using his political influence to steer hundreds of millions of dollars in public funds into Ueno while regulators overlooked risky insider lending. Peña has denied wrongdoing. The removal of U.S. President Donald Trump’s ally marks the biggest political crisis in Paraguay in over a decade. The landlocked country of 6 million people returned to democratic rule in 1989. Since then, it has mostly been governed by the conservative Colorado Party. AP video by Emilio Sanabria =========================================================== Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: info@aparchive.com. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives ​​ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/5e823305cb92466cae476d2e8e2dfae8