Paraguay: Public Prosecutor Indicts Ousted President and Requests Pretrial Detention

Paraguay’s Public Prosecutor’s Office has indicted the ousted President Santiago Peña and requested that he be held in pretrial detention in connection with his alleged responsibility for a banking scandal. Public Prosecutor Nancy Salomón announced during a press conference that the charges against the former president relate to “breach of trust and mismanagement for personal gain.” The prosecutor’s office also sought the arrest and freezing of the financial assets of Peña and former Central Bank Governor Carlos Carvallo, who faces the same charges. The 47-year-old conservative president, whose term was scheduled to end in 2028, was removed from office after the Senate unanimously convicted him in the wake of the collapse of Oney Bank. Peña, who had ties to the group controlling the bank, had offered his resignation. However, lawmakers proceeded with the impeachment process to strip him of the political immunity he would have retained had he stepped down voluntarily. He was succeeded by his vice president, Pedro Alliana, who pledged not to abandon the rights of depositors, thousands of whom had taken to the streets in protests demanding the return of their funds.