PARAGUAY · POLITICS
Key Facts
- What A judge ordered ex-president Santiago Peña held before trial; he has not been convicted.
- Why Ueno Bank, a Paraguayan digital lender with almost three million clients, is at the centre of the case.
- Next Prosecutors searched a house linked to Peña on Sunday 8 November and found a vault.
- Who Pedro Alliana has been Paraguay’s president since Friday 6 November.
- Prediction markets Polymarket, a US prediction platform, puts Pedro Alliana at 13.0% for Paraguay’s 2028 presidency (9 November, about 5 a.m. ET).
- Power Index Paraguay ranks 10th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 35.0 points (November 2026 edition).
A judge has ordered Paraguay’s removed president held before trial. Meanwhile the new government eases tax penalties for people caught up in the collapse of Ueno Bank.
Paraguay begins the week with a former president ordered into custody and a vault found at a house linked to him. Judge Humberto Otazú ordered Santiago Peña held before trial in the Ueno Bank affair, which our dossier tracks.
Ueno is a digital bank with almost three million clients. Foreigners should care because Paraguay is a major soy and beef exporter, and our explainer gives the background.
What Happened Over the Weekend
The Senate, Paraguay’s upper chamber of Congress, removed Peña on Friday 6 November for “mal desempeño en sus funciones”, meaning poor performance of duties. 44 of the 45 senators voted yes, and Vice President Pedro Alliana was sworn in the same day.
Over the weekend Otazú, a judge handling pretrial steps in financial crimes, ordered pretrial detention for Peña on suspicion of breach of trust and self-dealing (abusing a position for personal gain). He has not been convicted and is held at the Presidential Escort Regiment, an army unit that guards the president, rather than a common prison.
Carlos Carvallo, former president of Paraguay’s central bank (BCP), turned himself in to police. Over the weekend Otazú ordered him jailed for 15 days at Paraguay’s National Police Specialised Group, a police detention unit.
Carvallo faces charges of breach of trust, producing false public documents and self-dealing. All of these allegations are unproven.
The House and the Door
On Sunday 8 November prosecutors including Cristian Benítez and Silvia González searched a house linked to Peña in Ciervo Kua, in Cordillera department. Reports say they found a vault in the house.
The search is part of the wider criminal case against Peña. He is a suspect and has not been convicted.
Reports say the house was built partly with bank loans, including two granted in May 2024. These reports are unproven and have not been tested in court.
How Peña Got Here
On Thursday 5 November Peña offered to resign. Congress did not accept the offer, and the trial went ahead regardless.
Peña then asked for a 72-hour extension of the trial. The Senate rejected that request on Friday 6 November and later that day voted to remove him.
In Plain English
- Impeachment Impeachment is a political trial in which a legislature can remove a president from office.
- Pretrial detention Pretrial detention means a suspect is held in custody before any trial, without being found guilty.
- Colorado Party The Colorado Party is Paraguay’s long-dominant governing party.
Alliana’s First Days
On Sunday 8 November Alliana said on social media that taxpayers hit by the Ueno situation will pay no fines, late-payment surcharges or interest. He told Óscar Orué, head of the tax agency DNIT (the National Tax Revenue Directorate), to ease compliance for people who operated only with this bank.
What Prediction Markets Say
Polymarket, a US-based crypto prediction platform where users bet real money, lists a “Paraguay Presidential Election Winner” market with about US$17,600 traded. These are bets, not polls, on the race due in 2028.
At about 5 a.m. ET on 9 November, Basilio Núñez, president of the Senate, stood at 14.0% and Pedro Alliana, the new president, at 13.0%, while the market’s top-priced name stood at 20.5%. A price of 20.5% means traders pay about 20.5 cents for a contract that pays US$1 if that person wins.
Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.
What It Means for You
Paraguay is a major soy and beef exporter, so turmoil at the top matters to buyers and traders abroad. Ueno sold US$350 million of five-year bonds to international investors in March 2026 under New York law, and what happens to them has not been stated.
Anyone with Paraguayan business ties should watch the bond question. The next steps by prosecutors and the new government will shape how the case develops.
What Is Not Known
How much Ueno owes the State has not been published, and what the vault contained has not been disclosed. Prosecutors have also charged other people in the wider case, and all allegations are unproven.
It is unclear whether Peña’s defence will appeal, and no text of Alliana’s tax order has been seen. Both points may become clear this week.
Frequently Asked Questions
Has Santiago Peña been convicted?
No. A judge ordered pretrial detention on suspicion of breach of trust and self-dealing, but no trial verdict exists.
Who is running Paraguay now?
Pedro Alliana, the former vice president, was sworn in on Friday 6 November. The Senate had removed Peña earlier that day.
What is Ueno Bank?
Ueno is a Paraguayan digital bank with almost three million clients. The criminal case and Peña’s removal followed its collapse.
Sources: Ministerio Público (Paraguay’s prosecution service), public statements on the Ueno case, read 9 November 2026 (ministeriopublico.gov.py); Poder Judicial of Paraguay (pj.gov.py); Senate of Paraguay (senado.gov.py); Presidency of Paraguay, post by Pedro Alliana of 8 November 2026 (presidencia.gov.py); DNIT tax agency (dnit.gov.py); Polymarket, market prices read 9 November 2026, 5:06 a.m. ET.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated AI newsroom. Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. The Rio Times also runs Ask Rio Times, which answers from 100,000+ of our own articles, the daily Latin America Power Map, and prediction-market odds on elections and markets.. How we use AI · Report an error