Paraguay’s Peña Loses Top Aides as Impeachment Trial Resumes over Failed Bank
Lawmakers cite Peña’s ties to Ueno Bank and its $800 million in public funds as they weigh whether to oust him.
- Interior Minister Enrique Riera resigned late Thursday, followed Friday by Paraguayan President Santiago Peña's chief of staff Javier Gim and legal adviser Roberto Moreno, as the Senate resumed an impeachment trial over the Ueno Bank collapse.
- Impeachment charges center on Paraguayan President Santiago's ties to Ueno Bank, which grew into one of Paraguay's largest lenders by taking in more than $800 million in public funds before Regulators seized the firm on Tuesday.
- Ueno Bank's nearly 3 million customers cannot access savings or make digital payments, while Prosecutors have opened three criminal investigations into the collapse and charged Former Ueno CEO Miguel with breach of trust and attempted fraud.
- Conviction requires 30 votes in the 45-member Senate, but Paraguayan President Santiago's allies seek approval of his resignation to grant parliamentary immunity, while Vice President Pedro Alliana would assume the presidency if either path succeeds.
- Former President Horacio Cartes, patriarch of the Colorado Party, has publicly backed the ouster of Paraguayan President Santiago, signaling the implosion of Ueno has plunged Paraguay into its deepest political crisis in more than a decade.
25 Articles
25 Articles
Paraguay's Peña loses top aides as impeachment trial resumes over
ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay (AP) — Top aides to Paraguayan President Santiago Peña have resigned as the Senate resumed an impeachment trial Friday that could remove him from office, deepening a political crisis triggered by the collapse of a
The resignation was formalized by Decree 7199, by which the Executive accepted his resignation and appointed the current Deputy Minister of Internal Security, Carlos Humberto Benítez González, as Acting Minister of the Interior.
The Executive Power accepted the resignation presented by Enrique Riera, who regained his seat in the Senate before the political trial session against President Santiago Peña
Three senior officials of Paraguayan President Santiago Peña, including his chief of staff and his Minister of the Interior, presented their resignation while the Senate resumed on Friday the political trial to decide the future of the president after the collapse of a bank linked to his government.
Enrique Riera's departure was accepted by the government by Decree No. 7199, according to Paraguayan media, who also reported the appointment of Carlos Humberto Benitez as interim minister.
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