Paraguay President resigns amid banking scandal
Paraguayan President Santiago Pena announced his resignation Thursday, Nov. 5, after the takeover of a bank linked to him blocked millions of people from accessing their money.
Protests roiled the South American nation after the central bank took control of Uena Bank on Tuesday, Nov. 3, citing a severe capital shortfall.
Opposition lawmakers on Wednesday, Nov. 4, submitted a request to impeach Pena over the crisis, alleging misconduct and a conflict of interest.
"I want to apologize to the people if at any point I failed. It was never my intention to betray the trust you placed in me," the right-wing president said in a video posted on X, during which he announced his resignation.
His priority is "the peace of mind of Paraguayans who entrusted their savings to our financial system," he added.
Pena owned shares in a group that controlled Ueno Bank, but he sold them last year.
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His own ruling party backed the president's removal on Thursday, while Congress was debating the request.
The presidency will now go to Pena's vice president Pedro Alliana.
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