Paraguay’s National Police announced Friday night that ousted president Santiago Peña is officially detained at his residence, hours after the Senate removed him in a political trial over the Ueno Bank embezzlement scandal.
The arrest came almost immediately after the political rupture that ended his presidency. Peña, 47, had been convicted in absentia for poor performance of duties earlier in the day, with 44 senators voting in favor and only one absent from the chamber.
Prosecutors moved while the political dust was still settling. A team from the Economic Crimes and Anti-Corruption unit, joined by an agent of the Specialized Unit on Cybercrime and Money Laundering, issued the arrest warrant on suspicion of breach of trust and other punishable acts tied to the financial collapse of Ueno Bank.
RELATED: Santiago Peña Removed From Office by Paraguay Senate in Ueno Bank Trial
Peña was placed under detention at his residence. The measure was formalized in Case No. 92/2026, filed under the heading “Santiago Peña on breach of trust and others.” The order went directly to the National Police Command with mandatory compliance, instructing officers to proceed with the capture of the former head of State.
The ruling came from prosecutors Elena Fiore, Christian Benítez and Silvia González Véster, of the Economic Crimes and Anti-Corruption unit, together with Ruth Karina Benítez, an agent of the Specialized Unit on Cybercrime and Money Laundering.
The team is investigating irregularities at Ueno Bank, the institution at the center of the scandal that triggered the case against Peña and, ultimately, his removal from office.
⚡️ Paraguay EX-PRESIDENT Santiago Peña ARRESTED after impeachment https://t.co/FmIljkDhDF pic.twitter.com/IM2zc8uDuJ
— RT Intl (@RT_on_X) November 6, 2026
Detention at Home
The arrest order landed on the same day the Senate convicted Peña in absentia for poor performance of duties. What had been a political process now becomes a criminal one, and the former President faces the possibility of charges far beyond the loss of his office.
Prosecutors determined there were sufficient indications of breach of trust and other offenses to justify the measure. Their instruction to the National Police left no room for discretion: execute the arrest immediately.
A document bearing the letterhead of the Public Ministry requests the police to detain Peña in the breach of trust case. The move transforms the political rupture into a legal reckoning. Peña spent his final days in office trying to resign and claim immunity as a lifetime senator, a maneuver the Congress rejected before convicting him. Now he sits under house detention while the criminal investigation advances.
URGENTE 🔴 Santiago Peña ya está detenido
🔸 Pasará la noche en su domicilio y mañana sábado deberá comparecer ante la Fiscalía a las 11:00.
👉🏼 “Es la medida apropiada ante la situación”, indicó la fiscal Silvia González.
🟠 Seguí nuestro canal de Whatsapp:… pic.twitter.com/zOe2zpW6vw
— Monumental AM 1080 (@AM_1080) November 6, 2026
Text reads: “Urgent: Santiago Peña is already in custody. He will spend the night at his home and tomorrow Saturday he must appear before the Prosecutor’s office at 11:00 A.M. “It is the appropriate measure given the situation,” indicated prosecutor Silvia González.”
Assets and Family Ties
The investigation extends into the former President’s declared wealth and his family’s connections to the bank’s corporate structure.
In 2023, Peña declared himself a shareholder of Ueno Holding, valued at 6,144 million guaraníes. Those shares were sold in April 2025. He also declared a certificate of deposit worth 2,400 million guaraníes at Ueno and a bond issued by the company Itti.
The probe also points to family links. Peña’s brother appears as a partner in U Holding SARL, the entity through which the business group allegedly controlled Ueno, according to the case file.
That detail matters because it challenges the former President’s public claim of distance from the bank. Peña had said his investment was in Credi Centro, which later became Ueno Holding, and insisted he had no connection to Ueno Bank itself. The prosecutors’ line of inquiry suggests the corporate web may have been closer than the former president acknowledged.
The detention places Paraguay in uncharted political territory. A sitting President removed by Congress, then arrested the same evening, marks a rupture in the country’s recent history and sends the Ueno scandal into the criminal justice system, where the full accounting of the bank’s collapse may finally emerge.
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