Paraguay President Santiago Peña resigns after bank collapse

The move follows a bank collapse and after the lower house of congress voted in favour of pursuing an impeachment trial against him. Paraguay's President Santiago Peña has announced his resignation following a political crisis sparked by the collapse of a bank linked to him. "I want to apologise to the people if at any point I failed," he said in a video message on social media. "It was never my intention to betray the trust you placed in me." The crisis erupted after Ueno Bank entered an insolvency process, which froze all operations. Lawmakers accused Peña, who was a shareholder until last year in the company that owned the bank, of conflicts of interest and misconduct.

Peña rejected suggestions of impropriety. His resignation came as Paraguay's lower house of congress voted in favour of pursuing an impeachment trial. Photos taken near Paraguay's Congress building on Thursday show police officers clashing with protesters demanding Peña be removed from office. Paraguay's congress must approve the resignation of a president. But a special session convened on Thursday to address his resignation was adjourned in favour of continuing with the impeachment process. Congress has scheduled a special session for Friday, when Peña is expected to present his defence, according to Reuters news agency. In a post on X, Peña confirmed he would appear