Paraguay: Thousands Protest President Peña Amid Impeachment Over Banking Crisis

Several thousand people demonstrated Thursday evening near Paraguay's Parliament in Asunción, demanding the conviction of President Santiago Peña, who announced his resignation during the day amid a banking crisis affecting millions of savers, according to lenouvelliste.com. Police estimated the crowd at roughly 5,000 people, the majority of them young, with some seated, holding placards or chanting slogans hostile to the president such as "Santi, ordure, on veut ta tête!" ("Santi, scum, we want your head!"). At the same time inside Parliament, a new extraordinary session — the third of the day — was setting up impeachment proceedings against Peña. The report said the impeachment trial, led by the Senate, was expected to begin Friday. The outlet also referenced related developments, including that Peña was later placed under house arrest, and that Paraguay had begun returning funds to affected savers. The political and banking crisis unfolded rapidly, according to the source. Full details of the allegations and the trial's outcome were not provided in the excerpts available.