The Senate voted Friday to remove Peña after the central bank seized control of Ueno Bank on Tuesday, finding that its solvency ratio no longer met legal standards. The lender served roughly 3 million customers — more than half of Paraguay's adult population — and its failure has left millions unable to access their savings.

Peña, long regarded as one of Washington's closest allies in South America and a pro-market leader who championed making it easier to do business in Paraguay, has denied any wrongdoing. On Thursday he announced his resignation on social media, but lawmakers refused to accept it and pressed ahead with impeachment instead.

"I want to apologize to the Paraguayan people if I have failed you," Peña said in a speech posted online.

Prosecutors subsequently accused him of breach of trust and other charges before ordering his detention, according to the Public Ministry. He is the first Paraguayan president removed from office since Fernando Lugo in 2012.

Vice President Pedro Alliana was sworn in Friday to serve out the remainder of Peña's term through August 2028. In remarks to the Senate, Alliana said he would take steps to compensate people whose money was lost in the bank's collapse.

Ueno Bank had marketed itself as a tool for financial inclusion, saying more than a million Paraguayans opened bank accounts for the first time through its services, which included generous cash-back offers on groceries. The bank's ties to the government — and to Peña personally — became the focus of legislators' case that he had jeopardized state assets and benefited from his connection to the institution.

Protests erupted across Asunción, the capital, after the central bank's seizure, with demonstrators gathering near the National Congress and burning images of the outgoing president.

The episode has thrust South America's fifth-most-populous nation into political uncertainty at a moment when its economy had been touted as one of the region's most stable. For ordinary Paraguayans, the immediate concern is access to their money: the government has yet to detail how or when depositors will be repaid, and the new president's pledge of compensation has not been accompanied by a timeline or funding mechanism.

The case also raises questions about the oversight of Paraguay's banking sector and the intermingling of public office and private financial interests. Peña's stake in Ueno Bank was known before the crisis, but regulators did not act until the institution's solvency fell below legal thresholds this week.

Peña's legal team has not indicated how he will respond to the charges. A trial is underway.