Asunción (Paraguay) (AFP) - The president of Paraguay, Santiago Peña, asked this Friday for a "72-hour extension" to prepare for the impeachment trial unleashed by the banking crisis that froze the deposits of almost half of the population.
First modification: 06/11/2026 - 14:55
Peña must appear before the Senate this Friday, after Parliament paused consideration of his resignation, which the head of state had presented on Thursday.
"They notified me at 10:15 p.m. (01:15 GMT) with an accusatory libel and some 300 pages of annexes, and they expect me to respond in less than 12 hours. That is not due process," Peña wrote in X.
The legislators were debating the extension requested by the head of state, Senator Basilio Núñez, president of the Senate, informed the local press.
Peña, a former Finance Minister who assumed the presidency in 2023, had shares in a group that controlled the bank, which he divested in 2025.
The case escalated in a few days and led to the resignation of the president of the Central Bank.
An investigation was also initiated in the Paraguayan justice system that led to the arrest of eight bank executives.
Thousands of people protested on Thursday for the third consecutive night in the capital Asunción and in other towns such as Ciudad del Este.
In addition to their money, the protesters demand Peña's removal and, some, his imprisonment.
© 2026 AFP
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