Ex-Paraguay president Pena placed under house arrest hours after impeachment removal

Paraguay has been rocked by political turmoil. Former president Santiago Pena has been placed under house arrest, a few hours after Parliament impeached him and removed him from office.

Pena is to remain under house arrest until the final, formal charges against him are framed. Legal action against him has been tightened, and it has been said that the process will be completed soon.

Hundreds of angry protesters have gathered outside Pena's home in the capital, Asuncion. Security agencies have deployed a large force outside his residence to keep the situation under control and maintain law and order. Pena is being held under house arrest amid tight security.

At the root of the affair is the collapse of a major digital bank called Ueno, which created a serious political and economic situation in Paraguay. The bank's scandal and the economic instability have caused widespread anger among the public. In view of these conditions, Parliament passed an impeachment motion against then president Santiago Pena and moved to remove him from office immediately.

Ueno was a hugely popular and large digital bank in Paraguay, with about 2.9 million customers. Paraguay's total population is about 6.1 million, meaning nearly half the country's people were linked to the bank in one way or another.

It emerged that the bank's financial condition had deteriorated badly. The central bank then acted swiftly and took the digital bank under its control. This directly affected ordinary people.

With accounts frozen, people found it difficult to withdraw their money. The sudden closure of accounts and the inability to withdraw funds led to a deep economic crisis in Paraguay. With the money of millions of people stuck, sharp anger flared across the country.

The pressure of public anger was felt by the political establishment as well. As a result, then president Santiago Pena faced impeachment, and house arrest has now been ordered against him.