After three days of citizen protests in the streets of Paraguay’s capital, Asuncion, and in other cities, Paraguay’s President Santiago Peña, a close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, announced his resignation today. Peña expressed contrition and regret over the collapse of the Ueno Bank, which was seized by regulators on Nov. 3, who froze the accounts of three million depositors. The panic that ensued saw angry clients attempting to withdraw their funds from closed bank branches and protesting on the streets in several cities, including in front of the President’s residence in Asunción, clashing with police and demanding justice. In his resignation announcement, Peña said he made this decision to protect the country’s democratic institutions and stability but took no responsibility for the bank’s collapse in which he was clearly complicit.

Five years ago, Ueno was just a small financing company, but in that time frame it grew into a large, well-known lender, although early on regulators had already begun to scrutinize its risky lending practices. It has branches around the country. According to Associated Press, “government money flowed into Ueno’s coffers under Peña,” reaching $800 million earlier this year from zero in 2023 when Peña took office. Among the public funds deposited in Ueno today, and now at risk, are those of the state pension and health fund.